Deadly Games
by Moon Step
Summary: YYHInu It seems like coincidence, the way the Inu and YYH groups come together under one roof. However, they soon find out that the house has a mind of its own, and won’t let them leave. It gives a message: No one gets out alive. pairings
1. The Demon

_**Deadly Games** _

**Chapter One: The Demon**

* * *

There were many things Yusuke Urameshi would have preferred doing that morning. 

Sleeping for one, with the arcade as a close second; even the movies weren't far down on his list. But was he doing any of those things? No, of course not. Because that would mean (God forbid) that his life was normal. And that plainly was just not true.

Instead of all those wonderful places he could be, he was sitting in Koenma's, the Prince of the Spirit World's, office. He took some comfort in knowing, however, that he wasn't the only one not enjoying himself. Hiei had his usual cold look on his face that served as a mask to hide other emotion, though displeasure was practically vibrating off him and it filled the air around them.

Yusuke did throw his orange-haired friend an irritated look, noticing how he seemed glad to be there, though he did tend to get excited about new missions. More chances for Kuwabara to serve justice and impress Yukina along with all that other hero nonsense, Yusuke supposed. Kurama seemed to be the only one withholding his displeasure. That is, if he even had any.

Koenma cleared his throat, trying to grab Yusuke's attention since he was the only one not really paying attention, half-nodding off instead. Botan gave him a quick jab with her elbow, causing him to bolt upright.

Koenma almost rolled his eyes at the display. "There's a new assignment," he informed the four boys in front of him.

Yusuke spun his pointer finger around, as though waving a miniature flag. "Woo hoo," he said dryly, causing the young-looking—though certainly not young—prince to give him a withering look.

At the same time, Kuwabara asked, "what is it?" His reaction differed greatly from his friend's, as was evident from his position on the edge of his seat.

Koenma grabbed a remote that sat on his desk and with one press of a button, a picture came onto the screen behind them. A large house—a mansion really—standing at least three stories high was what was displayed behind them as they turned to see. But that was all. Sure, there were vines and other plant life growing all over the sides of it and yeah, it looked like it had not been used in decades, if not centuries. Besides that, it seemed normal enough.

Which was exactly why the Spirit Detective was less than impressed. "Is there a reason we're looking at a house?" Yusuke questioned. "Or is our mission to paint it?"

The sarcasm was still thick in his voice. What could he say? He was always sarcastic, more so when he was functioning on such little sleep. He was cranky and now Koenma had to deal with it.

Well, him and Botan. "You can at least try to show some respect!" she scolded from where she was beside Koenma's desk. Although he noticed that she, too, eyed the house oddly, a dead giveaway of her skepticism. Yusuke snorted at her obvious incredulity while _she_ was trying to yell at _him_ for the same thing.

"The last time anyone was living in this house was well over one hundred years ago. It's deep in the forest that's at the edge of the city. Realtors have been looking to sell the property and the house, but any people they sent to check out the house have never come back." He gestured toward the screen. "They went into that house, yet they never came out. And now we're starting to get weird energy vibes from it," Koenma explained.

"Ooh, it's haunted," Yusuke mocked, rolling his eyes. He jerked his thumb at his orange-haired friend beside him. "Send the ghost detector over here to deal with it," he said, while Kuwabara shot back, "that's not funny, Urameshi."

Koenma ignored both their comments, continuing as though they hadn't even spoken. If it was possible to revoke a person's right to speak, they would be his first choice. "I want you four to go live there for the time being and find out what's going on."

Kurama blinked once, the only evidence of his surprise. Had he heard right? "You want to send us to a house that no one has ever come back from alive." He said it more as a statement than a question.

Koenma nodded, looking quite serious. It was actually kind of comical, such a young face looking so stern. People of the world beware, the toddler might stare you down. "Yes."

"This is foolish," Hiei said, speaking for the first time.

He leaned against the wall, arms folded as he looked toward the Prince of Spirit World. He had little to no respect for the toddler and the longer the current conversation went on, the more he disdained him. Who said he would take part in this little expedition anyway?

"My thoughts exactly," Kurama agreed.

Koenma seemed annoyed, but once again ignored the group's words. He went on talking about the mission without faltering the slightest bit. "The people who lived there long ago… they were never seen coming out again. I believe it started with them..."

"This mission won't even have any fighting. I don't see why—" Yusuke began, but Botan interrupted his interruption. She had at least known that it would take some persuading to get the team to the house, but luckily she knew exactly what to say to get Yusuke to come. After that everything else would fall into place. Hopefully.

"Just think of it as a vacation, Yusuke. While you're living there for a week or two you won't have to do any other spirit detective work. Think of the possibilities. In a large mansion… there's has to be a lot of fun things you can do."

Botan could have sworn she saw a light bulb flash over the teen's head. She hid a smirk of satisfaction, especially when he declared, "hey, yeah! And no school then." Not that he went anyway, but if he _was_ on a mission, Keiko couldn't nag him about it, a major plus.

He looked to Koenma. "I'm in."

"If Urameshi's in, there's no way I'm not going," Kuwabara told him immediately after Yusuke had spoke.

Kurama sighed. Somehow he knew he was going to regret this, but… "It seems then that I will be joining them too." He glanced at the two other teens. "Who knows what trouble _you_ two would get into on your own." His comment only made Yusuke grin, which was not exactly the desired effect.

Koenma turned to Hiei, who had been very quiet during the whole discussion. Not that that came as such a surprise. "And you?"

Hiei turned to the prince before he spoke, feeling his gaze on him. He met his eyes squarely. "There's no way I'm going on a mission to live in a _human_ house," he said in a matter-of-fact tone, though putting emphasis on the word 'human' as if it were something disgusting. The entire assignment was idiotic all on its own. Why should he opt to go?

The prince shrugged nonchalantly, taking his gaze from the fire demon. "Fine," Koenma was all said, making Hiei eye him suspiciously. It wasn't like him to give up so easily.

Koenma continued, "Oh, and the girls will be joining you also. Botan and Yukina, since their abilities might be needed. And Keiko chose to come along as well."

He said it offhandedly as though it were no big deal, though he averted his eyes from the group after. If things got dangerous and they got hurt… He shook his head at even the thought. No, nothing bad would happen. It was just a simple task.

"WHAT?" Yusuke exclaimed as he stood up abruptly, disliking the new turn of events. Kuwabara was right behind him, looking worried now that his dear sweet Yukina would be involved. "What are you doing asking them before you even ask us, anyway!"

Hiei, his body slightly tense, looked away as Yusuke continued yelling. This had been Koenma's plan all along to get Hiei to go. Maybe it was the reason he asked Yukina to go, or maybe it was just an added bonus. Either way, he was _not_ going to trust his sister's safety in the hands of the others, mainly Yusuke and definitely not Kuwabara.

"Alright, I'll go," Hiei snapped abruptly, but he was _not_ happy about it.

* * *

Kagome knew that the Feudal Era had many redeeming qualities. _I mean, why else would I keep coming back_? she thought to herself. The land was beautiful with all its pre-industrialized wonders. There were also her friends, ranging from demons like Kirara and the little kitsune Shippo, to Miroku the "monk" (though she used that term loosely) and Sango, a trained demon slayer. And then there was Inuyasha. That on its own was enough. 

But there were less pleasant things. Like the hordes upon hordes of demons that seemed to try to kill them on a daily basis in an attempt steal their jewel shards.

At the moment, there happen to be one of those infamous demons standing twenty feet in front of her and her friends. And, big surprise, it was trying to exterminate them or at the very least, beat them to bloody pulp. How lovely. Just gives you that warm, tingly feeling inside, doesn't it?

…except not.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled, but her words—or rather, word—fell on deaf ears. The half demon in question just continued on, charging blindly at the demon in front of them. Would he _ever_ learn to think before he charged? _Apparently not_, she thought as she watch him swing his Tetsusaiga at it.

She must have made a move to follow him because Sango's hand was suddenly on her arm, preventing her from going forward. Then without a word, the slayer let go and proceeded toward the demon, using more caution than Inuyasha had.

And she was right to. The demon was twice the height of any man and much wider than one as well. Its mouth held fangs, though they were no match in sharpness for its deadly claws on its hands and feet. She bet they could easily tear through flesh and bones. Kagome shuddered at the thought.

The demon was not the most intelligent, not even being able to speak in words like most demons could, but its strength was more than enough to compensate that, which made it harder for the group to defeat it. The fact that Naraku's poisonous bees were all around didn't help nor the fact that it possessed at least one jewel shard.

What was most devastating, however, were the large yellow bumps that were littered across the demon's skin. Inuyasha and the rest had learned the hard way not to hit them during battle. Inuyasha had burst one and instead of blood spurting out, a yellow liquid began oozing from its skin, an acid that ate away at anything it touched. Inuyasha and Sango had avoided getting hurt by it, but just barely.

"Inuyasha's going to get himself killed!" Shippo exclaimed, watching as the half-demon just managed to avoid more of the dangerous liquid. It sizzled as it melted a tree bark in Inuyasha's stead.

Whatever touched the liquid disintegrated, the only exceptions being the demon itself, having an immunity to its own fluids, and Tetsusaiga, lucky for Inuyasha. Glancing at Sango, it was obvious she was itching to fight, but it was determined that her hiraikotsu was too risky against the demon. If thrown it could hit the yellow bumps and the acidic mess would squirt out everywhere, not to mention her weapon would be eaten away by it. She could only content herself with killing the poisonous bees, which turned out to be only frustrating work. No matter how many she killed, it seemed like more took its place.

Inuyasha became slightly more cautious to the relief of Kagome and made extra effort to slice at the demon only where his skin was. Hot blood poured out of the demon in mass quantities, mixing with the acid on the ground. The demon, beginning to realize it was losing, did one of the more cowardly things that a demon could. It turned tail and ran.

How… sad.

Inuyasha seemed to think so too, because he yelled after it, "hey! Come back here! What are you, a coward?"

It, of course, did not pay any attention, not even at being called a coward. It just kept bounding away with Inuyasha hot on its heels. The rest didn't even take the time to exchange looks before heading after the two, Kagome jumping on her bike with Shippo holding onto her neck tightly, while Kirara took both Miroku and Sango onto her back to follow.

The demon reached the clearing with the well and, with a quick look around, it ran toward the structure that connected the Feudal Era with Kagome's. Inuyasha only scoffed at this. "You've got no where to run, baka!"

It didn't even hesitate in its steps as it sprinted toward the well. It then did the unthinkable; it jumped right into it. By all laws of physics, science, or whatnot, the demon shouldn't have fit. But it did. A great light appeared around him and the demon was gone.

Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks, looking over the edge. He began cursing with such vulgar language it made Kagome's ears burn. Kirara reached him first, with Kagome not too far behind, peddling her bike with all her might. The miko jumped off the bike as it was still moving and it crashed to the ground. She hardly even noticed.

Sango was the one that asked even though she was sure she already knew the answer. Still, she questioned him once his cursing had stopped. "What's wrong, Inuyasha?"

He didn't answer, but no words were needed. He glanced at Kagome and her face grew very, very pale just from seeing his expression, seeing the look in his eyes. She didn't have to look over the side, she already knew.

The well was empty.

"It couldn't have… could it?" Kagome asked tentatively, watching as Sango and Miroku peered over the edge.

"Does it look like he's there?" the half-demon snapped.

He didn't mean to sound so angry with her, he was just angry in general. But it seemed whoever talked to him would get the brunt of his anger.

"He went into the well…" Miroku started.

"…which means he's in your time now, Kagome," Sango finished for him, glancing at the miko.

Shippo jumped off of Kagome's shoulder, staring down into the emptiness and a sense of foreboding filled the kitsune. "Uh-oh."

Uh-oh was right.

Inuyasha glanced at Kagome. "Well Kagome, what are you waiting for? Let's go."

She took a step toward the well, still dreading what the demon would do in her time, before she glanced back at the rest. "Are you guys coming?"

"We can't, remember?" Sango responded kindly while Inuyasha looked at her like he was sure her IQ had just dropped a few points. Then again, he didn't really know what a person's IQ was in the first place, did he? Either way, he glanced at her in a way that told her that he thought she had just said something really stupid.

Okay, now that made her kind of mad. And look who was talking! He wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the spoon. Wait, that didn't entirely make sense either…

She shook her head to dislodge the thoughts, worse for wear with all that sleep she didn't get the night before. But it was true, only Inuyasha and Kagome were able to pass through the well… and apparently, this demon as well. Unless something had changed… but what could have changed the power of the well? Nothing she could think of.

That brought her mind to a new possibility. "Have you ever tried?"

That made them pause for a moment. They had never actually _tried_ to go through, they had just always _assumed_ they could not. Shippo, however, only pouted. "I tried _with_ a jewel fragment and I still couldn't."

"Well if that demon could get through I'm sure you could too now," Kagome assured the sulking kitsune.

Inuyasha nearly stomped his foot impatiently. As it was, he gave them all dirty looks and snapped, "we don't have time for this! The demon's getting farther and father away!"

Kagome quickly handed them all a jewel shard, telling them all to at least try. If it didn't work, no harm, no foul, right? Inuyasha rolled his eyes and with an exasperated sigh, jumped into the well with all his patience used up. Kagome followed moments later.

Sango gathered Kirara in her arms before exchanging a knowing look with Miroku. The monk then offered her a charming smile. "Ladies first."

Sango scoffed at his words. "You're only saying that because if it _doesn't_ work, then I'll be the one to hit the bottom and find out," she told him wryly.

His face held genuine surprise, making her almost take back her words. He hadn't actually thought of what she said and he'd never wish harm on any lovely young lady. "Well then I'll—"

The demon slayer shook her head and stood on the edge, though there was slight smile on her face. She knew he hadn't meant it, but she interrupted, "too late, monk," before she jumped in, Kirara held tightly in her arms.

Miroku watched her go with carefully concealed worry, but a light appeared halfway through her descent, engulfing her. He frowned, however, when he saw it. The white light that appeared wasn't the same as the one that usually took Kagome back and forth between times. Something was wrong here, but he didn't know what.

He pushed the thoughts away before jumping in, knowing that they wouldn't do him any good at the moment since he had no answers. Besides, he couldn't begin to understand how the time travel was possible anyway. What did it matter what color the light was?

Shippo watched the thoughtful monk disappear before descending himself, all the while praying he'd be able to go through. There was a moment where everything seemed blurred and his stomach churned with discontent. He was sure he hadn't made it, but when he opened his tightly shut eyes and looked upward, he saw Kagome smiling down at him from the top.

He quickly scrambled up the side and launched himself at Kagome. "I made it! I made it through!"

She hugged him just as tight. "Yes, you did."

Inuyasha broke up the touching scene by taking hold on Kagome. Both her and Shippo were put on his back as he muttered, "we don't have time for this."

Miroku's gaze was on the gaping hole in Kagome's family shrine. "How do we know which way it went?" the monk asked, his voice dry.

Without another word, Inuyasha took off with Kirara and her two passengers only a second behind. Those that had not been to Kagome's era before marveled at the sights as they passed, but they did not have the time to sightsee. Inuyasha was keeping a fast pace, following in the direction Kagome could feel the shards.

They ran through a forest in the outskirts of the city, Inuyasha beginning to pick up the demon's scent. He dodged out of the way of trees and their branches, following where the scent was strongest. A large house came into view, and ancient looking one. The bricks that made up its exterior were mostly chipped and broken. A few of the windows were destroyed and green vines that had grown up the walls crept their way inside through the gaps. And there, on one of the sides, was a large hole, newly made.

"He's in there," Inuyasha said, jerking his head toward the long forgotten mansion.

* * *

Two days they had been in the mansion and everything was… well, normal. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Even Kuwabara, Mr. Sensitive, didn't feel any bad vibes from the place. This was the so-called "haunted house" that people had disappeared from? It was more likely they didn't _want_ to leave. They were too busy living the life of luxury in the _gigantic _mansion. 

_This is going to be an easy two weeks,_ Yusuke thought, lounging back on the couch. Well, aside from the fact that Botan would nag him to death before they ended. She kept telling him to check out the house, explore it. Check out _what_? Nothing was even remotely wrong.

Her cheeriness was also getting on his nerves. It would have been fine if it was just the guys but, no, Koenma had them bring the girls along too. Yusuke had concluded Koenma, the little sneak, probably only did it so that he could go on a vacation of his own or something along those lines. Then he wouldn't have to worry about what his Spirit Detectives and the girls were up to when he wasn't keeping an eye on them. Boy, was he going to get an ear-full in two weeks' time.

The mansion was big enough so that they all got their own room and although there were many hallways of rooms, they decided to stay together, since supposedly it _was_ a haunted house. Now the seven of them sat together in a particularly large room with quite a few couches, though the furniture hardly took up much space in the room, giving it an empty feeling.

"This is so dull," Kuwabara said through the thick silence. His words echoed around the room.

"So is your brain," Hiei responded. It was a cheap shot, but the insult came automatically. He didn't even have to think about it, it was a reflex action to whatever the idiot would say.

Before they could start bickering back and forth, Keiko said, "this doesn't seem like a ghost house."

Koenma had informed her what they were getting into to, but Yusuke and the others had explained more about it. She glanced nervously around the almost vacant room.

"We don't really know what we're supposed to find here," Kurama responded, to which Hiei gave a soft, "hn." That was only _if_ they found anything at all.

"I think I'll get bored without any fighting to do," Yusuke said.

A large blast was heard throughout the room, making all of them turn abruptly toward the noise. One of the walls burst open, throwing debris everywhere and scattering it around the floor as half the group ducked to avoid getting hit. A large demon leapt through the hole it just made and instantly spotted them. It growled, a sound coming deep within its throat and the floor vibrating because of it.

Botan glared at Yusuke. "You know this is your fault for saying it."

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha. 


	2. The Meeting

_**Deadly Games **_

**Chapter Two: The Meeting**

* * *

Having been one himself, Kurama had been around countless number of demons of all different shapes and sizes. Literally. Panda demons, fish demons, demons as tall as skyscrapers or with hundreds of ears, others that could pass for angels—at least until they're trying to tear at a person's flesh. There was even a demon as small as a shrimp, who was convinced he was king of the universe, though the last was amusing more than anything else.

It was safe to say the one currently in front of Kurama did not impress. It was badly beaten up already, blood and some kind of yellow fluid flowing out of many wounds. That did not, however, stop it from racing forward, eyeing its new, fresh prey. Unfortunate for the demon, it had picked the wrong people for prey. They knew only too well how to deal with evil, demons and humans alike.

Kurama's original assessment changed when he identified what the unusual liquid was. "Watch out for the yellow blood. It's acidic," he warned.

At the same time, Hiei readied his sword just as Kuwabara materialized his own in his hands. Keiko moved back and Yukina went with her, ready to put up a barrier if she needed. Botan stood with her oar raised, holding it as one would a bat. It might not have been entirely useful on a demon more than twice her size, but it was a blunt instrument that she could hit things with. That was better than nothing.

Kurama watched as Yusuke took aim, ready to send a spirit blast at the creature. "No!" the kitsune yelled.

Too late. The blast was already moving and—lucky them—it was heading right toward one of the yellow spots.

"Get down!"

"Fool!" Hiei yelled.

Yukina threw up a barrier that protected those around her, while the guys used whatever they could to avoid the oncoming liquid, ducking behind some of the couches and chairs around them. Acid burst from its bubble with an audible explosion, sending it all over the room. The furniture and floor around them hissed audibly, though the juice slid harmlessly down the sides of the koorime's barrier.

When there was no longer acid flying all over the place like candy from a piñata gone horribly wrong, the fighters resurfaced. Hiei slashed at the demon, though careful of where he hit. The brute refused to go down even as he slashed, trying to swat Hiei away as a cat would do to a fly. Kuwabara seemed reluctant to go near the demon since the floor was iffy to step on. Pools of liquid were everywhere, especially near the demon where it would have been near impossible to walk. The demon was sitting in a bit puddle of its own bodily fluids which was just a big ew factor, as far as Botan was concerned.

Yusuke had the same problem Kuwabara had and he was not about to try his spirit gun again any time soon, that was for sure. That left Kurama to try something to help his demon friend in his assault. But what could he do? As his mind raced at the possibilities the situation permitted, a movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention.

From the hole the demon had made came a flash of red and silver. The object dropped gracefully to the ground, avoiding all the rubble. Kurama recognized him as a demon, which was apparent by the dog-ears at the top of his head, not to mention long claw-like nails.

A young woman slid down from his back, a small kitsune on her shoulder. She surveyed the room quickly before turning around as some kind of cat demon leapt into the room, two humans as riders on its back. Almost all of them sported a weapon of some sort, minus the smallest one and the cat demon, being a weapon in itself. Were they friends or foes? From a glance, he couldn't tell.

The dog-eared demon didn't look at all pleased. No, more like he was ready to spill blood and have a dandy time doing it. The other male had the apparel of a monk from centuries, complete with staff. In fact, they all were dressed with dated clothing with the exception of the one girl, who wore a typically school uniform. How had _she_ gotten mixed up with the rest of the odd group? Or perhaps they were the people that could never leave the house after entering it…? Now there was a possibility worth considering, though at a different time.

The foreign-looking girl wore a skintight outfit with a large boomerang ready at her side that undoubtedly served as a weapon. She was pretty, her hair tied back in a long ponytail and her fighter's spirit was apparent. The more modern girl wore a green and white uniform, though carried a bow and arrows in a quiver attached to her back that her long black hair partially covered. Expressive brown eyes and a stubborn chin gave away most about her personality and probably would give her thoughts away most of the time. She was most definitely attractive and had some sort of power coming off her.

"Looks like we have company," said the monk.

The demon with silver hair and white dog-ears ignored him, drawing out a rusty sword that immediately changed to a huge, powerful blade. "We're not finished with you yet," the dog demon growled.

With one powerful leap, he was sailing toward the intruding demon.

* * *

Anyone with eyes could see where the demon had gone. 

_Well, okay, maybe not _everyone_ with eyes because blind people have eyes, they just can't see and_—even in her mind she cut herself off. _Focus, Kagome. There are more important things happening._

The large gaping holes through the many walls were a dead giveaway to where the demon had gone, leading to the room it was currently residing in. And so Inuyasha and the others were lambs being led to slaughter as they followed the trail inside, though these lambs had a few tricks up their sleeves. …If lambs had sleeves, that is.

Kagome surveyed the room when they arrived, surprised to find several people already there. It was especially surprising since from the outside it did not look like anyone lived in the abandoned mansion. Then again, she had not had time to observe. She just hoped they were allies and not in league with the demon.

"Looks like we have company," Miroku said beside her at the same time Inuyasha's sword transformed. He charged forward with a snarl of, "we're not finished with you yet."

Kagome only sighed as she watched this. He would _never_ learn.

She jumped back with a start as a black blur raced past her. When it paused for a moment, she managed to identify it as one of the strangers, but it took her seconds after she saw it to actually process what it was, he moved so fast. He attacked the demon over and over again with what she presumed was a sword, though it seemed like the wounds came from nowhere after a black flashed across the demon.

Another stranger, a red-haired one, put a hand under his long hair and pulled out… a rose? He flicked his wrist with grace and it immediately turned into a whip, thorns adorning the weapon. He cracked it with ease, hitting the purple skin of the demon, cutting it cleanly.

The large demon growled at the pain of the three weapons that attacked him, causing him to swat his arms about wildly in an attempt to get the attackers away. Another rather pitiful sight the demon exhibited. Yet for all it cowardice, with its acidic blood they could not defeat it easily.

They moved away until its flailing stopped, but by then Kagome had turned her attention away. On the other side of the room were three women, though they stayed out of the fighting. What were they…?

"Kagome!" she heard Sango call out.

Kagome whirled around to see the demon reaching a clawed hand out for her. Obviously it had grown somewhat intelligent if it had thought that getting a hold of one of them might make the others hesitant to attack. But why did _she_ have to be the hostage all the time? Oh, right, because she was the closest one with least likely ability to protect herself. Damn, she had to remember to stay farther away; her bow would be more effective then.

Before the demon could complete the gesture or she could even take the time to retreat, Inuyasha was suddenly there, scooping her up into his arms. The demon's hand missed as he leapt back into the air, carrying Kagome away from the demon's reach. At the same time, the man lashed out with his whip, slicing the hand that had reached for her, but also just missing Inuyasha by a thread. It was unclear if he had aimed for Inuyasha and missed or if he was trying to help Kagome.

"Hey! Watch it!" Inuyasha shouted, then to Kagome, "can't you stay out of trouble for two seconds!"

"Well it's not like I'm _trying_ to get attacked," was her immediate response.

He rolled his eyes and dropped her to the floor, leaving to fight the demon again. Hmph, for all her liking him, he could be so _annoying_ sometimes… and arrogant… two-timing… and reckless and… what were his good qualities again? Well, he did protect her, as shown just moments before, and he could be sweet, but that of course only happened when no one else was around. Why had no one ever warned her how difficult males were to deal with?

Miroku offered her a hand, which she took. "Why hasn't he used the wind scar yet?" Kagome asked him as he helped her.

"I believe he's afraid that if he does, the demon might explode everywhere, showering us with some of that lovely acid," Miroku explained, watching the fight as he answered her question.

Kagome bit her lip, understanding Inuyasha's concern. It was when Miroku cautioned her back that she turned her attention to the puddle of acid in front of her. If she'd been in a cartoon, she knew one of those little light bulbs would flash over her head. Maybe if she… Would it work? Well, there was no harm in trying.

"Kagome, what are you…?" Shippo began, peering over her shoulder with a child's curiosity. He held on tight, however, making sure he didn't flip over into the deadly goo.

She took one of her purifying arrows and touched it to the yellow blood. It boiled and bubbled for a second as she watched anxiously. Then, the acid was a dark puddle on the floor, turning crimson. Kagome nodded to herself before standing up and stringing her bow.

"Heads up!" she called.

Inuyasha, seeing her bow and arrow, jumped out of her way. What he really didn't need was to get stuck with one of her arrows, especially when sometimes her aim was a bit… off. The strangers regarded her with curiosity and threw her a few odd glances. However, they did get out of her way, except for lightning fast one, who ignored her words.

_Suit yourself,_ she thought as she fired her arrow.

A pink light swirled around it as the arrow flew through the air, surprising the strangers. It grazed the arm of the incredibly fast man, but managed to pass him and embed itself in the demon's chest. It growled and tried to pull it out, but it glowed a pink color still, and the demon could not touch it. It roared in pain while the yellow acid that had been pouring out turned red.

"Do it, Inuyasha!" Kagome called out.

Inuyasha nodded and leapt at the demon, sword raised. "Wind Scar!"

Streaks of power like lightning shot out of the sword, traveling in the direction of the demon. It just barely missed the small, quick man as well as another black-haired boy by inches, the two jumping out of the way. The blast then hit the demon and it roared as it disintegrated into nothingness. The jewel fell to the floor with a small clang, dripping in the demon's blood.

"Watch how you're using that thing, dog-ears!" the tall, black-haired boy yelled at Inuyasha.

He turned toward Inuyasha who still held his sword ready, while the man had his thumb and finger out in a gun-like gesture. Inuyasha, of course, did not understand this gesture, but did grasp the implied threat behind the motion. Inuyasha growled slightly, which _probably_ didn't help his case where the man opposing him was concerned.

"I know humans, and you're not one," Yusuke told Inuyasha.

"Oh, you're a bright one," Inuyasha countered with a sneer. "And here I thought dog ears were _common_ on humans."

The comment didn't please Yusuke, only serving to make him more irritated. The tip of his index finger began glowing a bluish color.

"Inuyasha…!" Kagome yelled.

She raised her bow as she made her way over to him, ready to hit the boy who threatened Inuyasha if she needed to. She was stopped however when a whip crack on the floor in front of her, making her jump back. It could have easily hit her, but the blow was more of a warning for her not to come any closer. She quickly switched her target from the boy across from Inuyasha to the boy that held the rose whip.

Miroku and Sango took their place beside their friends, showing their support with weapons held ready for a fight if need be. The two other male strangers did the same, though the one wearing black looked slightly indifferent more than anything else.

Sango stood with her hiraikotsu ready to attack, positioned across from the short man who had moved with such speed. He held his weapon, a normal looking katana, offensively rather than defensively. His intense ruby eyes stared coldly at her and the hard glare made up for his lack of height, proving a person didn't have to be tall to be intimating. He wore all black, minus a white bandana tied around his forehead. The man had a lean, though muscular body and had a weird vibe coming off him, which confirmed Sango's suspicions that he was a demon. Kirara, still in her large form, stood next to her, prepared to fight when the slayer did.

Miroku was next in line, standing across from a rather tall, orange-haired boy. He had black eyes, wore a blue school uniform, and looked around fourteen, just like the other two; the demon's age was unsure. He held a sword that did not look solid in his hand, but powerful all the same. Confusion was etched across his face seeing the way Miroku held his hand out, not knowing that if the monk took off his rosary beads, the chaos that would ensue.

Kagome, herself, was next with Shippo on her shoulder. She held an arrow ready in her bow so she could fire at any moment. She was facing off against the boy with the rose whip that had long, silky red hair and startling emerald green eyes. His arms had strong-looking muscles on them, probably from using his whip all the time, since using a whip correctly took quite a lot of strength. He was one of those men that would never be called handsome, because beautiful was the better term to use. But something did not feel right about him. He did not feel entirely human.

Inuyasha was last across from the last teenage boy. He had jet-black hair that was gelled back and dark brown eyes. He wore a green uniform, but Kagome could still tell he was muscular. He still held his hand out, his index finger pointed at Inuyasha.

Kagome's arms began hurting from holding the arrow back too long and she knew before long they would be trembling visibly with the strain. That meant she would either have to attack the boy across from her or put the weapon down and while the latter sounded better, she wasn't sure what she should do. It was then that her eyes met the emerald ones of the boy across from her. Just by looking at her, he seemed to understand her situation.

"I have no intention of hurting you," the man told Kagome.

That was enough for her. He seemed sincere and she didn't know how, but she knew he was not lying. She put her weapon down and replaced the arrow where it had been in the case on her back. The strangers all looked at their redheaded friend with a "what-the-hell" expression, which was quite comical on all their faces.

"Ditto," Kagome said with a slight smile. She even felt a little relieved that she would not have to fight him. He had too pretty a face to ruin in a fight anyway.

"Kagome, what the hell are you doing?" Inuyasha asked her, angrily.

Kagome ignored him and turned to Miroku. "Put your arm down."

"Do you think that's wise?" he asked her with one eyebrow raised. He did not look at her for his gaze was all for the boy in front of him.

"I think we're on the same side," she said. Miroku did not look convinced. Kagome thought quickly and said, "well, if you do use it, you'll be taking in those girls too and everything around them." Kagome pointed to the three girls who were still in the background, though they looked confused by her statement.

Miroku finally noticed them and put his arm down immediately after seeing the three attractive girls across the room. Kagome and Sango rolled their eyes, which the guys watched amused, but confused all the same. Even as she rolled her eyes, Sango did not move from her fighting stance.

"Sango…" Kagome began.

Sango sighed and relaxed her pose, holding her weapon in a more comfortable, unthreatening position, though she would still be able to use it at a fast speed. The demon sheathed his sword, though both still looked tense as they threw death glances at each other.

Now for the hard part. Kagome turned toward Inuyasha. "Don't even ask," he growled, feeling her gaze on her.

"Inuyasha," she said in a warning tone.

"No fucking way," he told her, "I don't trust them one bit. That one almost split me in half." Inuyasha nodded his head toward the one with the rose whip.

Kagome glanced at the boy in question and found he was staring at her. Their eyes locked and she felt something inside twist pleasantly, making her glance back at Inuyasha quickly.

She put a hand on his arm, lightly. "Inuyasha…" she said sweetly. He finally turned to look at her, suspicion clear on his face. Her own face looked entirely innocent and angelic. She continued just as sweetly, "…sit boy."

The rosary beads on Inuyasha's neck turned pink for a moment before they forced him into a heap on the floor with his face buried in the tiles. The four strangers looked shocked for a second before the black-haired and orange-haired teen broke out laughing. The other two smirked, silently.

"He should have just listened," Miroku murmured to Sango.

"What the hell was that for?" Inuyasha said once he removed his face from the floor. His voice was irritated, especially since the two were laughing.

Kagome gave him an incredulous look, which didn't satisfy him. He pulled her ankle, making her lose balance. She squeaked as she fell onto her rear on the cold floor.

"Hey!" she cried angrily.

Inuyasha began to get back up and Kagome waited. When he was halfway there, Kagome exclaimed, "SIT!"

The hanyou slammed into the floor with such force, she was sure there would be an Inuyasha shaped hole there for all eternity.

"I think I need one of those for Yusuke," Keiko murmured as Yukina and Botan giggled.

"Maybe we should introduce ourselves here, since it doesn't look like we are going to fight," Miroku said as Kagome got up from off the ground.

She brushed the dirt off her skirt and turned away from Inuyasha with a "humph", arms crossed and stubborn chin out defiantly. Kurama smiled further at Kagome's reaction. Inuyasha mumbled a few incoherent words and stayed on the ground, sitting Indian style with his arms crossed, his gaze off into the distance.

Yusuke, in a better mood after laughing at Inuyasha, decided to introduce everyone. "I'm Yusuke and this is Kuwabara…" Yusuke pointed to each person as he introduced them. "And this is Kurama." He pointed to the red-haired boy who still regarded her. She was beginning to get uncomfortable under his gaze, but she ignored it and looked at each person who was being introduced. "That's Hiei. And the girls back there, the tall, blue haired one is Botan and the shorter, blue haired girl is Yukina. The last one is Keiko."

So they were on a first name basis. That was fine with Kagome. Since Inuyasha was too annoyed at the moment to introduce them—though she doubted he would anyway—Kagome did the introductions.

"I'm Kagome, this is Miroku and Sango." Both nodded in acknowledgement at their names. "That's Kirara…" The seven strangers watched as the cat demon became a very petite one and jumped into Sango's arms, while the humans looked on, surprised. Shippo then slipped into Kagome's arms from where he had been on her shoulder.

"This little kitsune is Shippo. And him…" Kagome looked down at the sitting demon. "… he's Inuyasha."

"I don't mean to be rude, but what is he?" Keiko asked. The three girls had come closer to stand near the four guys they had come to the house with.

Inuyasha glared at Keiko and Kagome answered, "he's a dog demon. Can't you tell by the ears?"

She tugged playfully on one of the ears with one hand while the other arm still held Shippo. The ear twitched as she touched it causing Kagome to smile slightly. Inuyasha remained silent so the others were unsure if he was pleased or disgruntled by Kagome's actions.

"A hanyou," Hiei corrected her.

Inuyasha glared angrily at Hiei. Kagome had not mentioned that fact because she knew Inuyasha would not have wanted them to know, but the small demon had known already. Probably some weird demon-sensing thing, from what she could guess.

"And what are you?" Inuyasha growled at Hiei.

"He's a fire demon," Kuwabara told them, making Hiei glare.

"And you, Kagome? What power do you have?" Kurama asked, regarding her curiously.

That must have been why he had been staring at her for so long; he must have sensed her power and wanted to know what abilities she might have. At least that was what Kagome told herself.

"I'm a miko, a priestess. Well, actually I'm a reincarnation of one, but I have some powers too," Kagome explained. "And what are you… Kurama, your name is?"

He nodded. "It is. Why do you ask?" he questioned with a smile.

"You don't feel quite human, so what are you?" Kagome asked, tilting her head a bit to the side as she watched him.

She saw the approval in his eyes "Very observant of you. I was once a fox spirit, but now I'm in a human body. It's a long story," he said.

"Are we going to tell them all our secrets now?" Miroku asked, dryly.

"Well, let's start with why are you here?" Sango asked the strangers.

The four boys exchanged a look and Yusuke finally answered, "we're here to live in this house for a couple of weeks to check it out."

"What are you a real-estate agency?" Kagome asked. The rest of her friends looked at her with confusion which only made Yusuke's team watched them in their own confusion. How did they not know what a real-estate agency was?

"No, we're suppose to see if there are any gho—" Kuwabara started, but Yusuke put a hand over his loud-mouthed friend's mouth.

"Why are you here?" Hiei asked rudely, eyeing their strange clothing.

The five exchanged a look. Finally Miroku spoke, deciding to tell them the truth, not really caring if they believe of not. "All of us, except for Kagome that is, come from the past."

"From about five hundred years ago to be exact," Kagome added.

"We're here because we were hunting down that demon," Sango said, gesturing toward where the demon had been destroyed. All that was left was blood now.

"He had taken… something of ours," Inuyasha concluded.

"Oh! Right," Kagome exclaimed, just remembering something.

She walked over to a large puddle of the demon's blood, scrunching her nose as she reached a hand in. Her hand came out a moment later, pulling out their jewel shards that it had stolen. The shards were purified at her touch and she put them in a small container along with the other shards that the gang had collected.

"What is—" Yusuke began, but Kurama cut him off. They would ask later, when they got to know the strangers better. Then they would get more honest answers.

"This looks like it's going to be a long day of questioning. Why don't we sit down?" Kurama asked.

Inuyasha glanced at him. "Feh. We don't need to answer any of your questions and we don't need to know anything about you. Let's go," he told them.

Kagome glanced at the strangers with regret. She would have like to know more about them. Then she turned with the others to leave, but suddenly stopped. "Um… Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

"What?" he snapped, irritated.

"The demon… it smashed through quite a few walls….. Where did all those holes go?" Kagome asked, hesitantly.

She pointed to where the large gape in the wall had been, but there was no gap, only a normal wall. Everyone in the room looked on in disbelief.

"What the…?" Inuyasha started.

It was as though the house had mended itself while they were all distracted by the fight. Now that they looked, neither were there any doors or windows in the room anymore. It was as if the house had changed on its own accord.

A rumbling ran through the run before a loud slam suddenly sounded behind the group, causing Kagome to jump. The sound rang through her ears, leaving her momentarily deaf and the demons among them looked especially bothered. When the miko finally turned around to look at what had caused the noise, she found a large stone partially imbedded into the newly cracked floor.

Keiko, being closest to it, took a frightened, unsteady step back when she saw it. Kagome, herself visibly paled as her gaze settled on it. On the stone, a message in dark red ink was written. Then at second glance, Kagome knew it was not ink; at least, not the kind she was familiar with. However, the streaks of crimson were not what alarmed her, for it was the words themselves that drew out her fear.

**_No one gets out alive._**


	3. A Talk

**_Deadly Games _**

**Chapter Three: A Talk**

* * *

**No one gets out alive.**

Words so simple, yet they could invoke such anxiety. The room was oddly calm as the group of misfits stared at the bloody slate, though stricken bodies and hands itching to grab hold of a weapon or two betrayed some of their uneasiness.

A long silence ensued that the most unlikely of them interrupted.

"It's written in blood," Hiei said.

The fire demon's statement proved what Miroku had been thinking. "The demon's?" he inquired.

He did not have such a keen nose as to identify the difference, but Inuyasha had no such problem. "No, it's human," the hanyou responded in a matter-of-fact tone, speaking before Hiei could. He was not sure the demon would have answered anyway.

"Where did the human blood come from? None of us are bleeding," Sango stated. She surveyed the people around her quickly to check that fact and found it still true. No humans in the room were cut in any way that she could see.

"…Unless there's someone else here, someone we don't know about. Are there more in your party?"

The redhead, Kurama, shook his head, directing Kagome's attention to him. "No. And if there had been anyone else Hiei or I would have sensed it by now. We've been here two days."

"And has the house acted strangely at all in those two days?" Miroku asked.

"No, this is the first any of us have seen of it."

Again, silence consumed the air around them, making it seem unnaturally heavy. Kagome felt it as an almost physical weight on her shoulders and as she felt a chill, she wrapped her arms around herself in a protective gesture that a few took notice of.

"It was as if it knew," Kagome whispered, gazing at the blood written words. Her eyes were unfocused as she stared and she did not even realize she had said anything aloud until she felt all of their intense gazes on her.

"What was that, Kagome?" Botan asked.

She tore her gaze for the slate with some difficulty, and when she spoke her words were still soft. "It was as though the house knew we were all coming, even before we did."

"So it didn't start the party until everyone was here," Yusuke concluded for her. He did not sound in the least bit glad. No, the words tasted bitter in his mouth.

She nodded. "Exactly."

"I think we all have many things to discuss," Kurama said and almost everyone agreed, a few nodding their heads.

Now that all held suspicion against the house, making its presence known was no longer an issue. The game was set, the pieces were in place, and there was nothing they could do but follow along.

Before their surprised eyes, the house groaned as the blood and gore in its entirety melted into the floor and was gone completely. Kagome jumped and instinctively moved closer to Inuyasha as the walls began to close in around them, but the room only made itself smaller and did not crush them as she had feared.

The furniture in the room was covered in acid, but it was quickly renewed to a suitable condition. Four new couches lay in the center of the room and formed the sides of a square as all faced inward toward a coffee table in its middle. However, no doors or windows were created and the ones that had been there before had removed themselves. They were being held hostage where they were with no other way to get out.

With shrugs to one another and a few words exchange, they sat down cautiously on the supplied furniture. Most of them were frightened by the message, but did not show it. Being among strangers, none wanted to show even the slightest weakness that could be used against them later. Any that were afraid kept that fear to themselves, although it was quite obvious in some cases by the tension in their movements.

"How could it have known we were coming?" Keiko whispered. Botan, who had sat down beside the girl, gave her arm a comforting squeeze.

Hiei leaned against a wall close by, disinclined to sit on any of the couches. Unlike the others, he was not stupid enough to sit on something that had been conjured up right before his eyes, especially if he did not trust what was doing the conjuring. "It was probably been planing this for a long time."

Kurama nodded. "For over a century," he concluded.

"Why do I have the feeling there is something you are not telling us," Kagome said, looking at Kurama. Kagome sat with her legs tucked under her and Shippo on her lap, as she hugged him tightly to her.

"We were sent here to figure out what was up with this house. It was our mission, us four guys, to live her for a while and see why weird energy vibes were being given off this mansion. We were told the house was haunted." It was Yusuke that explained.

"Yeah, they kinda left out the part about the house being demonic," Kuwabara said.

"And having a mind of its own," Sango added.

"How do you figure?" Hiei asked, skeptically.

"Well, as Kagome said, it was waiting for us to get here. And now it happened to give us nice couches for us to sit on? This mansion's got a plan," she stated. She sat next to Miroku, although she was as far away from him as possible. She did not trust the pervert. Although she did like the couches, having never been on one so comfy before.

"Koenma, the guy, well toddler—but I'm not going to get into _that_—the toddler who gives us these mission, he told us the last people to live here was over a hundred years ago," Yusuke informed the newcomers.

"So you think this has something to do with them?" asked Inuyasha.

"Yes, but we did not get any information on them." Kurama sighed. "I wish we had, it might have helped us figure out what's going on."

"I don't like this at all," Keiko whispered.

Miroku got up from his seat, sending suspicion through Inuyasha and causing a groan to escape Kagome. He made his way over to Keiko and knelt in front of her. Kagome and Sango exchanged a knowing, displeased look, while Yusuke did not look thrilled at his behavior either.

"Are you frightened by this evil house? I will do everything in my power to make things all right for you," Miroku said while clasping her hands in his.

"What do you think you're—" Yusuke began.

His words cut off, however, when Keiko merely gave Miroku a small smile and said, "thank you."

The pissed off expression did not leave Yusuke's face. _How come she always slaps me when I make a comment like that and he gets a smile!_ Yusuke thought, annoyed. The fact that his comments were usually more perverted had been forgotten at the moment.

Miroku smiled back before asking, "would any of you three gorgeous ladies consider bearing my children?"

Yusuke and Hiei looked about to murder the monk in front of them while Kuwabara was considering a good beating. Kurama's expression was slightly shocked, though definitely not as shocked as the girls were. They were completely speechless.

Inuyasha and Kagome shook their heads sadly, knowing what was about to come. Before any of the three infuriated boys could reach Miroku, Sango got there first. She took the boomerang that she had put next to the couch and hit him in the head with it. He fell to the floor with a hard thud.

"Pervert!" she yelled, dragging him back to the couch by his ear, and plopped him down in his seat. "This is not the time for that, can't you see everyone is worried!" Then she thought about it and added, yelling, "actually it's never the time for that!"

Inuyasha snickered. "He deserved that."

Kagome gave the three flustered girls a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, he does that to every girl he meets. He's a bit of a lecher."

"More than a bit," Sango murmured hotly. Her arms crossed over her chest as she kept an eye on the monk.

"Why don't we get back to the problem at hand…?" Kurama suggested, wary of the three infuriated boys near him.

"So all we know about this house is that we know nothing," Kagome concluded, helpfully.

Kurama smiled at Kagome again and Kagome felt a warm feeling spread throughout her. She looked away quickly, although a light blush stained her cheeks that Kurama noticed.

"Well, when you put it that way…" Yusuke said as he began to cool off. Nonetheless, he could not help the death glares he sent Miroku every once and awhile.

"See, now look what you did, you pissed everyone off," Sango told Miroku in a whisper.

"It was only a simple question…" Miroku murmured back.

"A simple question!" shrilled Sango. "Why you—"

Most had been listening in on the whispered conversation, but Botan interrupted it. "Maybe we should exchange stories."

"Exchange stories?" Kagome and Yusuke echoed together. The two exchanged grins.

"Alright then. I suppose out of the five of us, it's really my story," Kagome said.

"Same here," Yusuke responded.

"Well, do you want to go first?"

"Oh, no. Ladies first, please."

It was obvious he did not want to tell his story just yet, maybe because he thought if he told she might not hold up her end of the bargain after. Well, it did not much matter to Kagome who went first. Kagome complied, but not before sticking her tongue out at Yusuke. He grinned further, which annoyed Inuyasha and surprisingly, Kurama reacted to it as well.

Kagome began her story. "Well my family owns a shrine, and on my fifteenth birthday, I kinda fell down the Bone Eaters' Well there."

"You fell down a well?" Hiei sneered.

"Did Lassie come and save you?" Yusuke said with false hopefulness, the grin still on his face.

None of Kagome's friends understood Yusuke's statement, but most of the others did. Keiko glared at Yusuke and Kagome just frowned. "Do you want me to tell my story or not?" He gestured with his hand, signaling for her to continue. "Well, my brother told me he thought the cat had gone down the well—"

"Was the cat alright?" Kuwabara asked, worriedly.

"I'm sure the cat was fine, Kazuma," Yukina told the troubled Kuwabara.

"Ignore him. He has an obsession with cats," Yusuke said.

"And I thought our group was weird," Inuyasha murmured, to which Shippo added, "you can say that again."

Kagome cleared her throat and everyone turned back to her. "As I was saying, I fell down the well—and yes the cat was fine—" Kagome added when Kuwabara was about to interrupt. "Well, I didn't really _fall._ It was more like the demon pulled me in…"

Kagome continued on with her story with no more interruptions. She did not tell them everything; they would have been there forever if she did that. Certainly she was not going to mention the love triangle between her, Inuyasha, and Kikyo. She gave a general summary, hoping she did not leave anything important out. They all listened with fascination, even the ones that were part of her tale.

"… and that leads us here. We followed the demon and now we're stuck here with you."

"The Shikon no Tama…" Kurama breathed.

When Kagome eyed him oddly, it was Hiei who explained. "The jewel is thought to be a legend among demons. We never thought it actually existed."

This peaked Inuyasha's interest. "But that means…"

"It must have disappeared after it was used," Kagome said, "so either you'll use it, Inuyasha, when we get back to the past or…"

"Or Naraku will," Miroku concluded. He traded looks with his friends.

"That's _if_ we get back to the past," Shippo said. He glanced at the slate that still lay on the floor, a promise of death written upon it.

"Naraku is not around anymore," Kurama told them, "if that helps you at all."

"So maybe we finally destroy him," Sango said.

"Hn," Hiei said, in a disbelieving tone.

Sango glared at the demon, not liking his attitude. He seemed to think that they would not be able to handle Naraku. Their eyes locked in anger and Hiei was the first to glance away.

Miroku shook his head at Sango's comment, not noticing the loathing that went from the fire demon to the demon slayer and back again. "But if this is five hundred years in the future from our time, he could have been killed at any time during those centuries and by anyone."

"Anyone can use the Shikon jewel too, so we know nothing more than we do before," Kagome said with a heavy sigh.

"Alright, now that I'm a bit confused, I'll just tell our story now," Yusuke said.

Kagome smiled at him and said, "alright then."

"Well, my story starts when I died."

"Deaths all around it seems," Kagome murmured. She was referring to how Kikyo died, but now that she thought about it, it was also true of Inuyasha in a way. Inuyasha had been in that sort of sleeping/dead state when she first saw him.

"And that's where I come in!" Botan said, cheerfully. "I'm the Grim Reaper!"

That took them all back. Why was she so cheerful then?

"Aren't you supposed to be grim?" Inuyasha asked, obviously skeptical.

"Hey, I'd like to continue with my story here," Yusuke said before Botan could answer.

"Now you know how it feels," Kagome told him.

Yusuke shot her a mischievous look that made Kagome blush slightly. Inuyasha growled softly, which most of the people in the room noticed. He moved closer to Kagome in a protective manner, though he would never admit to being jealous.

Kurama was displeased both by Inuyasha's protectiveness of her and Yusuke's glance, including the way he could make her blush, although he too had made her blush with a glance. Keiko did not look all too happy by Yusuke's flirtatious ways either.

"Anyway, it turns out I was not supposed to die so…"

Yusuke continued on with his story while the rest listened. It did not surprise her when she learned that when Hiei and Yusuke first met they were enemies, but it did surprise her that Kurama had stolen the mirror. Then she found herself smiling when she found out the real reason he had stolen it.

Kurama saw the small smile that played across Kagome's lips as Yusuke told about what he knew of Kurama's history, including his Youko self. She caught him looking at him and nodded slightly to which he nodded back. He could not help it when he felt a small smile on his own face.

It took a while for Yusuke to tell their story, and Kagome found herself trying not to yawn, though soon she wound up leaning her head against Inuyasha's shoulder. He stiffened, but quickly relaxed as he put one arm around her and brought her a little closer, molding her to the side of his warm body. Kagome had not shown it much, but the blood written message had scared her. Before she had comforted Shippo, but now she needed her own comfort, and she felt safe in Inuyasha's arms. Inuyasha knew this and that was probably the only reason why he let himself be seen in a public show of affection.

Kurama watched this with some annoyance, but chided himself when he realized what he was doing. How could he be jealous? He hardly even knew the girl, aside from the fact that she had just told them her entire history in the past. But he had not known her _that_ long. It was obvious that the hanyou and the girl cared for each other and he should not get in the way of that. In time the feeling would pass… At least he hoped it would.

Yusuke finished his story sometime later. He told them everything that he thought was important, besides the fact that Hiei was Yukina's brother, since Yukina did not even know that. By the time he finished, everyone was displaying signs of tiredness.

"Where did you sleep before?" Sango asked.

"We did have rooms upstairs, but…" Yukina started. The sentence did not need ending for they understood.

Kagome stood up and stretched her arms out above her head while rising on her tiptoes. She was not looking forward to sleeping on a couch, especially when there were only four and they were more than twice that amount in people. What she would much rather do was sleep on a nice warm bed with blankets.

A sudden idea came to her and although it seemed foolish, it was worth a try. The house wanted them to stay, right? So if she asked it…

Kagome glanced upward and spoke toward the ceiling, raising her voice the slightest bit. "Alright house, you got your wish, we're all here and stuck here until you decide otherwise. I'm staying, are you happy?" No response. Not that she expected one. "Can I have a room now?" she asked, then muttered to herself, "you'd think I'm talking to God or something…"

"I don't think that will—" Inuyasha began, but quickly stopped. The walls shifted and moved as though someone had picked up a block and began switching the sides. When the movement had ceased, one door was in front of Kagome.

With caution, Kagome stepped forward and opened the door. It revealed a staircase heading upward. She gave a slight bow. "Thank you."

"Why is she bowing to a house that has promised to kill every one of us?" Kuwabara asked to no one in particular. It was a rather good question too, but no one answered.

Sango along with Kirara followed their friend wordlessly as Kagome began to ascend the stairs.

"So the house gives us a death message then decides to be nice to us. Oh wait, that is until it _kills us_!" Yusuke shouted. His last two words echoed around the room as though the house was mocking him.

A short silence followed, but the rest could find no real reason not to follow the girls and cat demon upstairs to warm beds.


	4. Getting To Know You

**_Deadly Games _**

**Chapter Four: Getting to Know You **

* * *

Kagome walked up the stairs to what she hoped was some sort of bedroom, with Sango and Kirara not far behind. What she found instead was a long hallway with various doors on both sides. With a shrug to herself, she picked a random one of the left. She thought she picked rather well for the door she picked led to a room with two beds against the one wall and a small comforter next to one of them. All in all, it was perfect for her, Sango, and Kirara. In fact, it was too perfect.

Kagome almost laughed when she saw Sango eye the bed with mistrust.

"Why is it so far off the ground?" the demon slayer asked.

Kagome smiled. "That's how beds are in this time. They're really soft and comfortable though."

With Kagome's assurance, Sango sat on the edge of bed and bounced up and down once. The springs squeaked in protest, but held fast. Curious, she bounced a few more times. Kagome could not help it that time and let out a muffled laugh, especially when her face lit up with delight.

"You're right, but I think I'd be more at ease if I slept on the floor. I feel like I might roll off this bed during the night."

Kagome gave a small shrug. "Then I'll join you on the floor."

"You don't have to—" she began.

Sango quickly jumped off the mattress as it moved under her and spun around in time to see both beds melt into the wall and completely vanish. It left the room nearly bare except for a dresser and a long mirror off to the side. Just when she thought nothing else unnatural would happen, a door shimmered into existence. Kagome walked over to it and opened it warily. Inside she found two rolled up sleeping bags and pillows, but that was all that was in there.

Kagome blinked. "Now _that's_ convenient."

She tossed a pillow and sleeping bag to Sango, who in turn began spreading it across the floor. The sound of the door opening caused both of them to whirl. Sango's hand reached for a weapon, but she immediately stopped the action as she saw the three girls in the doorway. She let the tension slip away from her body as Kagome offered them a smile.

"We figured it would be better if we stayed together," Yukina explained, "especially after the threat the house left us. No one wants to be alone at the moment."

Well, that made sense. Staying in groups seemed safer than going out alone, particularly because they didn't know what the house was capable of.

"The guys will probably be sleeping together too," Keiko added, then paused. "…that didn't come out right."

The newcomers laughed and Kagome and Sango visibly relaxed. Being stuck with the other girls would not be too bad. There were some people that Kagome could not deal with—Kikyo for instance—but these girls seemed friendly enough.

Botan surveyed the nearly empty room as Kagome set up her sleeping bag. "How come there are no beds in here?" the grim reaper asked.

Kagome glanced at Sango, who answered, "I mentioned how I would be more comfortable on the floor, so the beds were taken away. And these were given to us," she added, gesturing to the sleeping bags.

Kagome pondered something briefly, then decided to test her theory. She went over and opened the closet that should have been empty, but instead there were three more sleeping bags and pillows in it. Kagome threw one to each girl while Botan went over to the dresser. Doing just as Kagome had done, she opened a random drawer and found five sets of silk pajamas in them. Each pair was a different color and corresponded with what the girls were already wearing.

To Kagome, it seemed the house had some style and seemed to be helping them out, for the time being. But why? It did not entirely make sense. If the house was threatening to kill them, what was the point of being nice? Something did not add up… and she had no idea why.

"This house seems to know everything," Botan murmured as she handed each girl their pajamas.

With no regards to modesty, the girls quickly changed, though Sango seemed the most uncomfortable with it. Especially with a house that knew their every move, they did not feel entirely at ease undressing, but after a long day and a fight with a demon, a change of clothes was in order.

Kagome crawled into her sleeping bag and Sango sat near her with her back leaning against a wall. With her sleeping bag unfolded, Keiko slid inside and pulled the covers up. She glanced at the demon slayer. "You seem to know how to handle Miroku well."

Sango let out an annoyed sound. "That pervert? We've—me and Kagome, that is—have been traveling with him and Inuyasha for a long time. After a while you get used to him," Sango responded as she pet the small demon on her lap. She continued, "feel free to slap him if he tries something again."

Yukina followed Keiko's example while asking hesitantly, "is there something between you two?"

"What? No!" Sango said, although she could not hide her pink-tinted cheeks.

Kagome hid a knowing smile, but not before Botan caught sight of it. The blue-haired deity grinned.

In an attempt to change the subject while also turning the tables, Sango asked Keiko, "what about you and Yusuke?"

Her response was quick and flat. "There's nothing there." Technically, that was a lie, but she did not want to get into it.

"She wishes…" Botan murmured to the closest person to her, Kagome.

Keiko managed to hear her and glared while assuring the others he was _just_ a childhood friend. Kagome felt the need to protest that statement and give the girl some hope.

"He seemed awfully protective of you when Miroku was hitting on you."

Keiko, however, ignored the statement. "Yusuke's not exactly the most affectionate person. Perverted, yes. Affectionate? No. But I doubt he thinks of me as anything more than a friend."

Her voice did not sound the least bit happy when she said it. Her gaze seemed far off as she completely submerged herself in thought. Kagome could easily guess what was on her mind and might have asked, but Keiko suddenly snapped back to reality and gave a small half-smile. She had no desire to continue talking about it further.

"And you, Yukina? Do you have any romantic feeling for any of the four guys? That red-haired one… Kurama, I think his name was… He was handsome," Sango said.

Kagome blushed at the statement even though it had not been directed at her. She, too, had thought Kurama was attractive, but what did it matter? She found a lot of guys attractive. She thought Kouga handsome, but that didn't meant she wanted a relationship with him. Why was she even thinking about Kurama and relationships? He was good-looking, that was all.

The way he had stared at her though… it had made her extremely uncomfortable to the point where she wanted to squirm in her seat. There had been an intensity in his gaze that she had not liked. It frightened her more than anything.

Kagome resurfaced from her thoughts when Keiko spoke. She responded for the koorime. "Her and Kuwabara have a relationship."

"You and Inuyasha seemed cozy back there," Botan said to Kagome with a wicked grin.

Kagome shook her head as she got her mind off the kitsune and onto Inuyasha. "There's nothing between us," she said in a flat tone.

She loved Inuyasha; Kagome knew that for a fact. The way he always protected her and took care of her, she could never forget that. But nothing romantic would happen between them. That was that.

"Well, that's not entirely true…" Sango refuted.

"You were too affectionate with each other to not have something there," Yukina agreed.

"It's… complicated," Kagome said. She turned her gaze away from the rest.

"Well, we're not going anywhere and we might be roommates for a long while. Might as well tell us now," Keiko reasoned.

Keiko herself was secretly relieved that Kagome had an interest in Inuyasha. Call her jealous, but she had disliked the way Kagome and Yusuke had been so friendly right from the start. Not only friendly, but they had been teasing and flirting a bit with each other. Just looking at Kagome now though, she saw that Kagome was head over heels for this Inuyasha guy, the hanyou. Or maybe Keiko was just hopefully.

"If you really want to know…. It starts with the priestess I'm the reincarnation of," Kagome began.

Kagome told them her whole history with Inuyasha and Kikyo, starting from where she had left off before. She left nothing out, even when it made herself seem foolish or immature. She even confessed her own love for Inuyasha, but assured them that there was nothing between the two, romantic-wise.

Botan gave a low whistle and Keiko said, "and I thought _I_ had boy problems."

"It looks like we are just a bunch of girls with boy problems," Sango said.

Botan let out a small annoyed sound. "Speak for yourself. I don't have a boy to have a problem with."

"What about that fire demon…Hiei. What about him?"

Botan gave Sango a contemptuous look. "What, me with the short, unfeeling, impatient, intolerant demon?"

"He's not that bad," Yukina said.

For some reason she felt as though she should protect him. Besides, he was always kind to her and never lost his temper around her, though she never knew the reason was that was.

"Humph," Botan and Sango said together.

Sango had not known the fire demon for long, but she already did not like him and she was sure she would continue to dislike him in the future. He never said much, like he thought he was better than the rest of them or something along those lines. He was an arrogant little demon and that made Sango furious.

Kagome stifled another yawn, but they continued to come. Yawns, being very contagious, spread throughout the room and in silent agreement the girls decided to turn in for the night. After a few calls of goodnight, they all snuggled up in their sleeping bags.

Kagome smiled as she began to drift asleep. Aside from the possible death threat, she might enjoy the weeks to come if she had the other girls' company.

* * *

Hiei ignored the other boys in the room as he sat by the window. His gaze was entirely for the darkness outside and even though his demon's eyes could make out shapes in the night, there was not much to see. He could care less what his companions or the strangers around him did. They, however, insisted on being loud and annoying.

"I'd much rather be with Kagome," Shippo informed Inuyasha.

He began walking toward the door, but Inuyasha grabbed his tail and pulled him back.

"Too bad, furball," Inuyasha said as he lifted him up so that Shippo's face in front of his.

"But you're mean to me," he said. He tried to punch Inuyasha with small fists, but the hanyou merely leaned back to stay out of his reach.

"Hey, that's right. And now that you don't have Kagome to hide behind…"

Inuyasha, grinning madly, began to repeatedly hit Shippo over the head. The kitsune struggled, but could not wrench himself from Inuyasha's grasp. He whimpered as his head began taking much abuse.

"Hey, stop beating up the little guy!" Kuwabara yelled.

Inuyasha glared at the orange-haired boy, but let the kitsune go. Shippo scampered away and jumped onto the bed next to Miroku with hope that the monk might protect him.

"What was that for!" Shippo exclaimed, rubbing the large bump that was forming on top his head.

"For being annoying," Inuyasha answered. When Shippo continued to glare at him, he added, "you're a demon, you'll live. And you won't have_ that _much brain damage."

Shippo stood up straight and pointed an accusing finger at Inuyasha. He took in a deep breath before he yelled.

"Sit!"

Inuyasha rolled her eyes. "Nice try, shrimp. That only works when Kagome says it."

"And why is that?" Kurama asked, curiously.

"Because of these." He tugged on the rosary-bead necklace.

"And here I thought it was a fashion statement," Yusuke said with sarcasm while Kuwabara snickered.

"Do you ever say anything that's not sarcastic?" Miroku asked the spirit detective.

"No."

It was Hiei who answered since Yusuke did not. The red-eyed demon turned his gaze toward the suddenly silent Yusuke, as did the others.

The Spirit Detective seemed to have forgotten about everyone else in the room; his eyes and attention were entirely for Inuyasha. For some reason, he felt a deep anger surge within him when he glanced at the hanyou. Hatred filled him and he was not even sure why.

Inuyasha met her gaze squarely and felt the same bottomless loathing toward the boy in front of him. He jumped to his feet, his sharp claws ready to attack. "Do you want to fight, spirit boy?"

He never took his intense gaze off him even as he stood, but gave a nonchalant answer. "I've taken out full youkai before, one _hanyou_ shouldn't be that much trouble."

"Oh, now you've done it!" Inuyasha yelled.

Kurama stepped forward to try and soothe the dangerous situation the two were moments away from, but the floor suddenly began rumbling under their feet. The room expanded in one exploding moment and everyone except the fighter were thrown backward.

The mansion had given the two more room to fight as though encouraging them. If the two killed each other, it meant less work for the house to do. It was easier on it to let them all kill each other then to intervene. Yet, something felt wrong.

"Inuyasha! What are you doing!" Shippo yelled. "Don't be any idiot!"

Inuyasha either did not hear, or chose not to. He jumped into the air and vaulted himself at Yusuke. He took a swipe at him with his claws, but Yusuke ducked to dodge the attack.

Hiei looked as though he might have wanted to join the fight, but he was stopped by a barrier. It was invisible and surrounded the two fighters, keeping them in and the rest out. Kurama took out his rose whip and slashed at the barrier to test it, but as he suspected, it merely struck the side, producing a shimmering blue light, but keeping him out all the same. Kuwabara tried with his spirit sword as well, but ended up with the same results.

Yusuke noticed Inuyasha's body tense and knew he was going to attack again only split seconds before he actually did. He quickly went into a defensive stance as Inuyasha leapt to claw him. It was not soon enough though since Inuyasha's nails scraped across his stomach.

As he felt the sharp pain, he saw an opportunity and took it. His fist connected with Inuyasha's jaw, sending the hanyou flying backward until he hit the barrier with a loud _crack_. Yusuke then bent over himself as his arm went to cover his wound; four long stripes of blood appeared on Yusuke's stomach.

He brought her hand up and glanced at the crimson on it. He sent Inuyasha a fiery look seconds before he pointed his index finger at Inuyasha. Inuyasha, recognizing the gun-like position his hand was in from before, took out his Tetsusaiga.

Inuyasha smirked, but there was nothing happy about it. "So you want to play rough, do ya?"

"If you think this is rough you don't know what rough is," Yusuke commented, while talking aim.

"You ain't one to talk."

Inuyasha jumped up and pushed off the barrier, sending his swiftly toward Yusuke with his sword raised. Yusuke's index finger began to glow a faint blue color, ready to shoot Inuyasha before he would even be able to reach the Spirit Detective.

The door slammed open as a flash of light blinded everyone in the room. A loud, confident voice rang throughout the room.

"SIT BOY!"

Inuyasha fell to the floor with a loud thud and his Tetsusaiga fell beside him, harmlessly and the blast from Yusuke just barely missed him because of Kagome's call. But without Inuyasha to connect with, the blast continued on. It should have hit the barrier, but Kurama was the first to notice it had dissipated when Yusuke took a step backward and out of where the barrier would have been. But that meant the blast would keep going forward until it hit something—and Kagome was right in its path.

Time seemed to slow down as Kurama ran forward and knocked Kagome to the ground with him in tow. The blast skimmed right over their heads and hit the wall instead, obliterating it into dust. The two landed in a heap on the floor, their bodies tangled together as Kurama took most of the force from the fall.

Kagome was pressed firmly against Kurama, frozen just the way they had fallen even moments after. The silky pajamas that she wore moved against his skin softly, tickling all his senses. Her face was buried in the crook of his neck and her warm breath fell on his skin as she took deep, quick breaths in and out. She still had the aroma of the fresh outdoors from when she was in the past and underneath that she smelt of strawberries, her hair especially. His arms unconsciously tightened around her.

Kagome was too shocked to react just yet. Her eyes were tightly shut, her lips practically against Kurama's neck. She took quick breaths, taking in the deep scent of roses that covered him and overlapped onto her in a calming way.

The smoke from the blast cleared and Kagome instantly jumped to her feet, needing to be away from the enthralling smell of roses. It had made her a little woozy, although as she walked away from Kurama, she had forgotten to thank him and forgot about his presence for the moment. Instead, she stomped over to Inuyasha and hit him across the back of the head.

"Baka! What do you think you were doing?" Kagome asked him. She sounded mad, though deep down she was frightened of what could have happened to him. She masked the worry with anger.

"It wasn't my fault…" Inuyasha began, unconvincingly. He felt a little light-headed and was a bit unsure of what just happened.

"Do I have to keep an eye on you all the time! I just left you, what, a half and hour ago? Can't you just not fight for once?" Kagome yelled.

"HE started it," Inuyasha said, sounding like a five-year-old. He sent Yusuke a glare that matched the age he was acting.

"They're not our enemy, Inuyasha! Kurama proved that before by saving me AND we saw them fight the demon we were after! All you're doing is _helping_ the house with its plan to kill us all!" Kagome shouted.

A quiet swept through the room as what she said sank in. It was true; they had been helping the house. The house only urged them along by making the barrier. Why take the effort to kill them when they were killing each other already? That was probably what it had thought… that is, if it had a mind. Which brought up another interesting question. Did the house have a mind so that it knew what it was doing? Did it think like any normal human did? The answers were unknown. Yusuke and his friends, Kurama especially, wished they had gotten more information about the house before moving in.

"… I don't think it was his fault, or mine," Yusuke said.

"…what?" Kagome asked, startled, while turning to Yusuke.

"When he snapped at me, I felt this uncontrollable hatred toward him, but now looking back on it, it didn't seem like me fighting," he explained.

"The last few minutes seemed dazed to me," Inuyasha admitted.

"So what, exactly, does that mean?" Sango asked walking further into the room.

Miroku threw a surprised glance at Sango and the other girls. He had not even realized they were there, but they must have arrived when Kagome had.

"Do you believe it was the house controlling you?" the monk asked, turning his attention to Yusuke and Inuyasha.

Kagome shivered as the other girls did as well. Now that was a scary thought. If the house could control their emotions… it could practically make them do anything.

The next few minutes were spent discussing their concerns while Keiko tended to Yusuke's wounds. Yusuke and Inuyasha gave a murmured apology to each other reluctantly, but only because the girls would never have left otherwise. Finally the girls left the room to go back to their own, intending on continuing their interrupted sleep.

"So if his rose beads make him fall down when Kagome says sit, what do yours do?" Kuwabara asked to Miroku after the girl's had left. It had been bugging Kuwabara and he felt the need to ask.

"Do yours make you fall face down into the ground every time you do something perverted?" Hiei asked, wryly. He had moved back to his place on the windowsill. That was the most the three from the past had heard Hiei talk.

"First of all, they are rosary beads, not rose beads. And no, it does not. My beads serve as a seal for my hand. Kagome must have forgotten to mention it, but Naraku put a curse on my family."

"You don't have to tell them anything," Inuyasha told Miroku. He was still testy after the fight.

"Aw, come on Inuyasha. They're obviously on our side _and_ we'll be here for awhile, stuck with them," Shippo said.

Inuyasha glared at him, causing the small kitsune to hide behind Miroku. Inuyasha shifted his Indian style position on the floor, his sword held close to him, before closing his golden eyes.

Miroku sighed. "We'll save my story for another day. Now, it is time to sleep. I'd like to try out these comfortable looking beds anyway," he said, getting nods of agreement from some of the rest.

"Hn," said Hiei and at the same time Inuyasha said, "Feh." They glared at each other and both turned away the moment their eyes meet. Kurama felt himself smile when he saw; the two would get along just fine. Either that or they would tear each other's throats out. Nothing more was expected, but nothing less.

Inuyasha made himself comfortable on the floor while Hiei stayed at his windowsill. The three boys got into their beds with Shippo sleeping on the edge of Miroku's. With that, all drifted to an unease sleep, unsure of what the next day would bring.


	5. It Begins

**_Deadly Games _**

**Chapter Five: It Begins **

* * *

Kagome walked together with the other girls the next morning as they headed toward the kitchen. Botan, having been in the mansion two days prior to Kagome and Sango, led them there for she knew her way around the best.

Kagome knew they were close when she smelt the wonderful aroma of food being cooked. She no longer needed Botan's help for she followed her nose the rest of the way. What she found first, however, was a dining room with Miroku, Kuwabara, and Inuyasha sitting around a large table. An extremely large table, in fact, since it was big enough to fit at least fifty people around it.

Kagome walked over to the smiling monk, opting not to sit near Inuyasha. Although she did not say so, she was still peeved with because of the previous night. Even if his emotions had been played around with, he _still_ had tried to harm if not kill Yusuke.

"Ah, so it seems the lovely maidens have finally woken up and decided to join us," Miroku told them.

"Give me a break," Sango mumbled, while running one hand through her hair, tousled from sleep. She plopped down in the seat next to him since the other girls looked wary to do so.

"Where's Yusuke?" Keiko asked as she sat down next to Kuwabara, who only shrugged and said, "probably getting lost."

"Feh," Inuyasha said with a small smile of satisfaction.

Although the emotions that they had felt last night had not been entirely their own, Inuyasha and Yusuke still were not getting along. It was understandable with two such stubborn people. Then again, there was also the factor of Yusuke getting along so well with Kagome and the jealousy of that kicking in.

"Then who's making breakfast?" Sango asked, hoping it was not the house making breakfast for them. She feared the house would feed them all poison if they were not careful and they would be none the wiser.

"That would be Kurama," Miroku responded.

Kagome stood up abruptly. "I'll go help."

Sango, not liking the devious look in Miroku's eyes (which always meant trouble), also rose from her chair. "I'll go with you."

The two girls hurried off to the kitchen, pushing the swinging door open. They slid noiselessly into the room to see Kurama cooking on the stove. He did not turn around when they entered, either because he had not heard or he did not care. Kagome seriously doubted it was the latter.

"That smells wonderful," Kagome told him. She stood hesitantly by the doorway, not sure if she should come all the way in or not.

Kurama turned around with a smile. "Thank you, Kagome."

The mere sight of the reincarnated priestess made Kurama want to smile. Yesterday, she had ignored him after he had knocked her out of the way of the sprit blast, though he understood. She had been concerned for Inuyasha's safety and Inuyasha was her lover, not him.

But why was it he felt oddly disappointed about that fact? He shook his head not knowing the reason, or perhaps because he would not let himself accept the reason. Either way, he was glad for her presence now. She had a warm, soothing aura that he enjoyed being around.

She took the smile as an invitation and walked further into the room followed by Sango. "How come you didn't wait for one of the girls to wake up and cook?" Kagome asked. She didn't mean to sound sexist, but she just did not think any of the guys would have been willing to cook. Just the thought of Yusuke or Inuyasha cooking breakfast was laughable and yet cringe-worthy. Something they made would probably be inedible.

Sango nearly relayed her exact thoughts. "Not to be stereotypical, but I wouldn't think you'd like cooking much. One of us girls would have gotten to it," Sango said, then added with a half-smile, "…eventually."

"I thought it would be easier this way. Then when you woke up, breakfast would be ready. It's almost done now," he told them.

"That's sweet," Kagome told him with a warm smile.

The reply didn't come from the kitsune in front of them. "I suppose," said a cold voice from the shadows.

Both turned with a start—Kurama seemed unfazed—to see Hiei come out of the darker parts of the kitchen. He wore all black as was per usually with his sword at his side, though his usual expressionless face had a small smug smile. He loved catching the girl Sango off-guard, the fact that she was a demon slayer making it all the more satisfactory.

"Do you always do that?" Sango snapped at Hiei.

"Do what?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Sneak up on people," she responded.

"I don't sneak. Some people are just too dim-witted to notice my presence," Hiei told her, knowing it would annoy her.

Kagome could practically see the mean-spirited sparks that went from one to the other. Sango seemed tempted to take her weapon and hit him with it or slice him in half, Kagome could not tell which. Hiei had his arms at his sides but in a mere fraction of a second he could grab his sword and slash the huntress.

"Hiei," Kurama warned.

He glanced away, arms crossed. "Hn," was all he said.

Sango stalked out of the room, heading back toward her seat, with a "humph". She would rather face Miroku and his lecherous intentions then deal with the demon jerk. Hiei had disappeared too, though Kagome was unsure when because the next time she looked he was gone, though where he disappeared to was a mystery.

"He's like a child when he fights with Kuwabara. I think it's worse when he fights with Sango," Kurama murmured to Kagome, making her giggled.

Kurama smiled as her face lit up and she began giggling at his comment, her eyes sparkling with amusement. Kurama was just happy that he could make her laugh.

Kagome stayed in the kitchen and helped Kurama with the last bit of cooking as a thank you for the day before, or so she told him. She also said her thanks aloud to which he only smiled and did not respond. Bringing up the day before only reminded him of her devotion to Inuyasha, something he did not want to remember.

When the breakfast was ready, Kagome helped Kurama carry the food out to those waiting. Yusuke had appeared just in time for the meal, only getting there moments before. He took a seat next to the fire demon.

"Man, this place is huge," he commented as he plunked down.

"Well, it is a mansion," Keiko told him with a frown.

"While that is true, actually the inside of this place is probably five times what it should be," Kurama informed them all.

Everyone stared at him, but it was Inuyasha who spoke. "What do you mean?"

"Well I noticed it the first day we were here, but did not think much of it, since we did already know the house was supernatural. Although the mansion itself is huge on the outside, the inside is five times this, through mystical means."

Yusuke gave a low whistle. "No wonder I got lost." He glared at Keiko defiantly, who glared right back.

Kagome and Kurama set a plate of food down in front of each person before sitting down themselves. They all began eating, somewhat skeptically, unsure what its quality would be. Kagome took some food on her fork and popped it into her mouth with only the slightest bit of hesitation.

She felt like melting to the floor right there. The food was magnificent. Looking around the table she saw the same reaction from the rest of the people, except, of course, Hiei and Inuyasha. The demon's face was as blank as ever, and Inuyasha looked as though he would rather have had some Ramen.

"This food is delicious," Yukina told Kurama.

"De-licious," Shippo repeated with approval, the others nodding in agreement.

"Thank you," he responded with a genuine smile.

"Man, if I knew you could cook like this, I would have made you cook more often," Yusuke said.

"You're going to make one special girl very happy one day," Kagome told him, her eyes sparkling.

He glanced up and caught her eyes with his green ones. "I suppose I will," he said softly. It seemed like there was no one else in the room during the moment their eyes met.

Her breath caught in her throat and Kagome looked down at her lap quickly, her cheeks stained a deep red color. The look in his eyes had been so… intimate, even when he spoke words that were really insignificant. Then why was she blushing so much?

Sango saw the exchange and had a secretive smile on her face. _Well, well, well_, Sango thought.

They ate the rest of the meal with some light conversation between the humans. Kagome's face turned back to its normal color and she joined in some of the conversation, though her head seemed in the clouds. As people finished their meals, they began to trickle out of the room. Hiei had been there one moment and when Kagome looked toward him again, he had vanished, the second time he had done that that day. Inuyasha had also wandered off somewhere, though he was slightly disoriented in the confines of the house in contrast to the wilderness he was accustom to.

Miroku followed Inuyasha out, while both Botan and Yukina left together with a nod and a murmur of goodbye. No one wanted to be alone, besides Hiei who could not have cared less, so it was a silent agreement that they would be at least be walking around in pairs.

"Come on, Yusuke," Keiko said.

"What?" he inquired, irritated.

"_You're_ going to help me clean these dishes," she told him.

"WHAT?"

"Keiko, I don't mind…" Kurama began, rising from his seat.

Keiko offered him a smile. "No, Kurama. You fixed this meal so now Yusuke can help clean these dishes. He's a lazy bum anyway, he could at least do _something_ useful while we're here."

"What's that suppose to—" Yusuke began, but Keiko began tugging him toward the kitchen, dirty dishes in hand.

The last thing that could be heard before the swinging door to the kitchen closed was Keiko saying with false cheerfulness, "and guess what, Yusuke? This house doesn't have a dish washer so we get to do it **all** by hand!"

Yusuke's yell of "NOOO!" could be heard echoing around the room.

Those that were left at the table could only laughed at the distressed call.

* * *

The Spirit Detective's arms were covered in soapy water up to his elbows. Oh, how the mighty had fallen.

He cleaned yet another plate before handing it to Keiko, a sullen look on his face. She dried them without complaint, though took amusement in Yusuke's disgruntled mood.

_She got the easy part, drying the plates,_ Yusuke thought, _I'll have to get back at her for that._

Yusuke looked over at Keiko, taking in her appearance. Her hair was tucked behind her ears as she dried, the sleeves of her white shirt rolled up, just in case her arms got wet. She wore a blue skirt that reached just down to her knees and she was a step away from the counter, seeing as how Yusuke had been splashing water all over.

"I like that outfit, Keiko," Yusuke told her sincerely.

She eyed him with suspicion clear on her face and in her voice. "Thank you," she said cautiously. Since when did Yusuke compliment her? Something was definitely not right.

"You know what would make it look even better?" Yusuke asked innocently. He didn't look at her as he said the nonchalant words, only kept washing.

"What?"

Her eyes widened as he picked up the tub of soapy water. It was a large tub, requiring two hands to hold it up, especially the way Yusuke held it above their heads. The water sloshed around, threatening to fall.

"Don't you dare, Yusuke," she told him, backing away slowly.

Too late. He dumped the water on her, making her cry out as cold water hit her, soaking her through from head to toe. The water was _cold_ and it made her clothes cling to her tightly. The fact that she wore a white shirt did not help things either.

"Yusuke, you—you JERK!" Keiko shouted.

"Aw, come on Keiko. The wet look suits you. And it emphasizes all your curves," Yusuke replied wickedly as he tugged on the edge of her skirt.

Keiko slapped him across the face, hard enough to leave a red handprint across his cheek. While he was preoccupied with the hit, she noticed that he had left the tub under the running water, filling it up once more. Still fuming with anger, she took it and flung it at Yusuke, drenching him.

"AH! That's cold!" Yusuke cried out.

"Now you know what it feels like!" she yelled back.

"Yes, but now I'll need something to warm me up," Yusuke told her, raising an eyebrow as a mischievous smile appeared on his face. Her cheeks flamed red and she took a hesitant step back. _He wouldn't,_ she thought. Then glancing at him she knew he would. He was worse then Miroku in some respects, but only when it came to Keiko.

He grabbed onto her, but the floor proved too slippery and they both fell to the tiled floor, with a small cry from Keiko. They both fell to the soapy floor with a large thud, Yusuke landing on top of her. He stayed where he was on top, his eyes dancing wildly. Every part of their lower bodies touched since Yusuke had his arms on either side of Keiko, holding him up, but only slightly.

"Get off me," Keiko said, her voice a mere whisper. Her words sounded unconvincing even to her.

The coldness of the tiled floor and the warmth of Yusuke's body on top of hers made her want to shudder, but she restrained herself. Instead her heartbeat sped up five times the normal rate. She had been attracted to Yusuke for a long time, but this was alarming her. Her mind would not work properly and all her common sense was lost to her.

"And why would I want to do that?" Yusuke asked huskily.

He glanced down her body longingly, making her shiver. He laughed when she did and brought his face down to her own. He buried his face in her hair and planted a quick, wet kiss on her neck, so quickly that Keiko was not even sure it happened. Then in only seconds he was off her and on his feet, offering her a hand up.

Excepting the hand, he quickly drew her to her feet. What had just happened? Had he only been playing with her or did he actually feel something for her? She was so flustered; she did not know what to do, so she did what she always did. Keiko lifted a hand up to smack him, but when her hand was inches from his face, his hand caught her by her wrist.

He tsked at her. "Not this time," he said playfully.

Keiko yanked her hand back, her face turning a darker shade of red, and stormed out of the room while Yusuke watched her go, enjoying the view from behind.

* * *

They could hear sounds of yelling coming from the other room, not to mention a loud thud of something hitting the floor .

"Should we help them?" Kagome inquired worriedly, looking at the kitchen door that the sounds were coming from.

"That's just Keiko and Yusuke normally, don't worry about it," Kuwabara told her.

Kagome still looked worried, but did not say anything more. Finally sometime later a soaked Keiko came storming through the room and out another door. It took place so quickly, nobody had time to inquire anything of the flustered girl.

"…and I suppose that's normal too?" Sango asked, looking to where the girl had disappeared.

"I don't know," Kagome said thoughtfully. "She kind of looks like you when you get finished dealing with Miroku…" She let the words linger in the air while Sango glanced angrily at her, though her cheeks were flushed.

Yusuke came from the kitchen as well, looking around the room. He winked at the people sitting at the table before leaving, probably intending to follow Keiko, though how smart that idea was…

Sango stretched her hands over her head. "So what is there to do in this house?" she asked the two who had been there longer then she had.

"Nothing," Kuwabara told her sulkily, "they don't even have a TV."

"A Tee what?" Sango inquired, clearly puzzled.

"They don't have TV's in the past?" Kuwabara asked, quite dumbly, then said, "Oh, yeah! Pretend I didn't say that first part."

"Gladly," Kurama said.

Kagome laughed and said, "well if the last people who lived here were from a century ago, I wouldn't suspect the house would have any modern stuff." She frowned then. "But it did have a refrigerator."

"Well the house does seem to have its own powers, so it can have modern technology if it wanted to use it. Maybe it does not want to pollute our minds with television," Kurama reasoned.

Kuwabara shivered. "This house really is evil. No television…"

Kagome smiled while Sango and Shippo just looked entirely confused by the whole conversation. Both Kagome and Sango rose, meaning to find something for them to do, while Shippo jumped into Kagome's embrace, Kirara doing the same with Sango.

"Why don't we have a look around the house?" Kagome suggested.

"I don't know…" said Shippo worriedly.

"It's pointless since the house can change itself anytime it wants, but it will give us something to do. Let's go," Sango said.

Both girls grabbed their weapon; who knew what kind of surprises could be waiting for them in the mansion? They were almost out the door when Kagome turned back to Kurama and Kuwabara.

"Do you want to go with us?" Kagome called back.

"No thanks," Kuwabara said. "The house is creepy enough already. I don't want to go exploring out there. It's just asking for the house to do something to us."

Kagome shrugged. "Okay."

The four spent the rest of the day exploring their new residence, though not really paying attention to where they were going since they talked most of the time. Not to mention it was too large to remember much. Their most interesting find was a large space of area that led outside. It was virtually in the center of the mansion, surrounded by four walls, but it was fairly big; big enough so if a person went to its center, it would seem like he or she were out in the forest and not surrounded by a building. There was also a large pond off a bit to the side, small fish swimming around in it. Kagome made a mental note of where the outside section was so that she could get back to it, though she doubted it would stay there for long since the house shifted so much.

The next two weeks were spent just like that. Kagome and Kurama would cook the meals while Keiko and Yusuke would clean up after everyone. The rest of the day was spent doing whatever the group wanted to do. Soon everyone eased into a pattern and no longer worried about the death threat, the words almost forgotten in their minds. Almost, but never gone. They were still stuck in a place they did not want to be.

The house had not acted up since that first day, the only exception being to give them a few things they needed, such as clothes and food supplies. Only the girls still stayed together in pairs and slept in the same room at night, seeing as night was the only time they were uneasy in the house. Things always seemed more terrifying when it was dark. The guys all took their own rooms, lest they start tearing each other's throats out.

It was just like living in any normal house with other people, the only strange thing being that they could not leave. Otherwise, they could venture to say they had a somewhat good time, although strange feelings began to emerge between the inhabitants of the house that were hard to sort out and harder to explain. They wished that they could blame it on the house, but they knew the feeling were entirely their own.

* * *

Kagome helped Kurama with the cooking as she always did in the morning, though she failed to notice that the frying pan was titled toward her, which made for an unfortunate incident. The oil spurted out and easily went through the thin material of her shirt, meeting the skin on her stomach. She jumped back, dropping the handle of the pan she had been holding as she let out a small hiss of pain.

Kurama whirled around from where he was searching cabinets and came to her aid. He had not seen what happened but he had heard her cry out. "Are you alright?" he asked her.

"Fine," was her quick response.

He gave her a disbelieving look but they continued making breakfast without a word. Kurama watched her from the corner of his eye, and saw her touch her stomach lightly and wince. "What happened?" he asked her. She was stuck between him and the counter, there was no escaping his scrutiny.

"Nothing—"

He touched her thin shirt where the oil had gone through and touched her skin. She recoiled visibly. "That's a whole lot of nothing," he told her.

"I… burnt myself. It's alright," she told him and moved out of his reach, her arm blocking the burn.

"Let me see how bad it is," he asked her. It was more of a demand than a request, yet it still managed to be polite.

Kagome eyed him for a moment before obeying. Timidly, Kagome pulled up her shirt just an inch or two so he could see the wound. Kurama opened a random cabinet and it was empty save for a small tube of burn ointment.

"Thank you," he said to the house.

Without warning he picked her up by her waist, causing her to squeak in surprise. Her skin was so soft against his hands as he placed her halfway on the counter top and while holding his body against her, putting her in a better position to treat her wounds.

Kurama's eyes danced with amusement at her cry off surprise. Kagome smiled, a small laugh escaping her lips. He put a small amount of ointment on the tip of his finger and tenderly smoothed it across the burns on her stomach. It really was not that bad and didn't hurt that much, contrary to what he may have believed.

Kurama continued to lightly put the ointment on her burn, his body halfway leaning over her own as he examined the wound. She shivered at his touch, but he mistook it for a grimace.

"Does it hurt?" he asked gently.

"N-no," she stammered, looking anywhere but at his face. Worse than that, she knew by the heat on her face that she was blushing.

"Sorry if my hands are rough," he said softly.

Rough? What was he talking about? His hands were soft and silky, gliding over her skin delicately. His hands were like smooth rose pedals and when they moved across her skin it made her shudder with delight. If he had gone on she knew her knees would have given way and she would have fallen into his embrace. Just thinking about her made her blush more and her heart beat faster than ever.

When he finished he gently moved her ruffled shirt back into its place before helping her down to stand on the floor again. He smiled warmly at her and she could do nothing but smile back.

"Thank you," she told him quietly.

"It was nothing. Now lets get these plates into the other room. They're probably wondering what happen to us by now and who knows what Yusuke is capable of when he's hungry," he told her.

They were still so close, neither one making a move to shift away and neither wanting to actually move apart. More like they both wanted to move closer. His gaze fell on her lips, so full of life, and then drifted upward to her eyes, gazing deep into them, falling into a trance.

"Not to mention Inuyasha," Kagome said.

Just speaking his name brought them both out of the trance that was in the other's eyes.

Kurama abruptly stood up straight and nodded to her. "Then we shouldn't keep him waiting, should we?"

Kagome felt lost with him moving away so quickly. Their eyes locked again but with a different meaning then last time. "No we mustn't," she all but whispered as she walked away from him and out into the other room.

* * *

They gathered into one large room, although it was not on purpose. It was a lack of anything else better to do that drew them all to the room they had labeled as "the common room". Or perhaps it was because all the hallways had seemed to "accidentally" lead to the one room so many did not have a choice in the matter.

Not that they thought much of it; it happened often enough. However, this time was somewhat different, for when all had entered, the doors had disappeared. They were left trapped in the one room, but each of them managed to find something to keep themselves entertained.

Kirara in her larger form helped Inuyasha practice fighting while Yusuke slept on one of the couches nearby. Yukina and Keiko helped Shippo with a puzzle that the house had so nicely given to him when he had announced that he was bored. Sango, Botan, and Kagome sat on the other side of the room from Yusuke, sitting in armchairs and chatting while they watched the three others put the puzzle together.

The girls all exchanged looks when Miroku made their way over to them. Those who had only met Miroku two weeks ago had gotten used to his antics by then, though they usually left Sango to slap some sense into him. Just seeing him walk over, Sango reached for her hiraikotsu.

"Seems like the house is up to something again," Miroku told them, being conversational.

Sango's eyes narrowed. _He_ was most definitely up to something. Miroku sat down on the edge of Sango's armrest, as there were no seats available. He made no move, only continued to converse with them. Soon all of them visible relaxed. Of course, that was only until Sango felt something beginning to slide down her waist and down further…

Miroku fell backwards and onto the floor with a red handprint on his face and an annoyed Sango standing over him. He looked dazed, though still had a smile on his face.

"Keep your hands to_ yourself_!" Sango yelled at him.

Shippo jumped onto the armrest next to Kagome, having come over to the scene with Botan. "Will he ever learn?" he asked.

"No," all the girls chorused besides Sango, who was quite irritated still.

"I think we should start trying to figure this house out," Botan said.

"And why would we want to do that?" Inuyasha called from where he was training.

"Because all we're doing now is waiting around like sitting ducks. Sure nothing has happened in a while, but it might not stay that way. We should search around the house and look for clues, maybe something from the last people who lived here and how they disappeared. It would be better then sitting around and waiting for an attack," Botan said.

A few glances were exchanged between the rest of the people, but they agreed with Botan's words. She was right; they should try to figure out something about the house so that they could leave it soon. They had been putting it off, trying to forget, but doing that had not made it go away. If they did not do something they might never get out and they would most definitely die—of old age, that was, for the humans at least. For the demons it was bad anyway, seeing that they would be stuck in the house for eternity.

Yukina stood up from where she sat abruptly, moving slowly away from the puzzle. Her eyes had a haunted look in them as she continued to back away.

"Yukina, what's wrong?" Botan asked.

Botan's words drew everyone's attention, including Hiei who did not react to much. The demon's movement did not escape Sango's notice. His concern confused her. Why did he care about the koorime? What was it about her that drew his attention more than anyone else's?

They all moved over to where the small ice demon was with a frightened look on her face. Even Yusuke did, having woken up after the commotion between Sango and Miroku. Yukina pointed a trembling finger at the puzzle and they looked surprised at what they saw.

The puzzle had almost been finished, but now it began to take itself apart, piece by piece. Then slowly the pieces began to pull themselves together again, spelling out two words.

_It begins._

Silence followed as they all stared at the message on the floor. The last message of the house had faded from their memory but now it came rushing back, bringing the terror and fear they had felt before with it.

The words on the floor began to tremble and the pieces suddenly blew apart sending fragments all over the room. One hit Kuwabara directly in the forehead, making him stumble back. As the room became still again and all that could be heard was the fading sound of a man laughing.

Kagome, without thinking, moved closer to Inuyasha which Kurama watched through the corner of his eye.

"Well isn't that sweet," Yusuke said dryly. "The house gives us a few weeks to get to know each other and now it's going to kill us all, so we'll care when the others die."

"Speak for yourself," Hiei said.

"Hiei," Kurama warned.

"Yusuke, this isn't a time for jokes!" Keiko cried out, angrily. Her eyes were full of unspoken fear.

Yusuke might have retorted, but he happened to glance at Keiko and his eyes softened. "Sorry," he murmured.

Yusuke? Apologize? That was when you _knew_ something was wrong.

"Why don't we just have dinner now and think about this later?" Kurama suggested.

"Yes and I think tonight we'll stay together," Botan said.

The girls nodded in agreement; they had been sleeping in the same room anyway. The guys glanced around and half of them nodded.

"Feh," Inuyasha said.

So it was settled. They all ate in silence during their dinner and all trooped upstairs for bed. Without a single goodnight, they all went to sleep while the eerie silence of the night hung nearby.


	6. Split Up

_**Deadly Games **_

**Chapter Six: Split Up**

* * *

Kagome was awoken with a start when a sudden chill ran through her. She sat up and was suddenly wide-awake without the slightest clue why. Glancing around to see if anyone else was awoke, she found that the others were nowhere in sight. She could not help the upset feeling that ran through her. Why had no one woken her up?

With a sigh, she looked around once more and found clothes laid out on the dresser that had not been there the night before. There was a navy blue shirt that was a little too low cut for her taste, but she took it anyway and a pair of gray shorts that covered just as much as her school uniform skirt did. Kagome had previously learned to just wear whatever the house had offered to her.

She changed quickly and donned her regular shoes, intent on finding where the others had wandered off to. She was worried about the other girls. Why would they leave her alone in a haunted house? It did not make sense, especially for Sango to leave her. The guys had started going off alone, but they had been more cautious and stayed together. It made Kagome worry and feel a little hurt by their absence.

As she headed for the door something caught her eye. The long mirror on the other side of the room shimmered gold for a moment and then went back to normal. Curiosity getting the best of her, Kagome walked over to the mirror, entranced. Something in the back of her head screamed for her to walk away, but she just could not. She was being pulled toward it.

She reached out a hand to touch the mirror's surface, but her hand met no resistance. She could still see her reflection, but her hand had disappeared inside. The mirror turned into silvery liquid, ripples appearing where her hand went through.

A sudden push came from behind and she went tumbling forward, shrieking as she began to fall into a never-ending blackness. After an eternity of falling, Kagome caught a glance of ground below her. She squeezed her eyes shut, ready for the bone shattering impact that was about to come.

But it never came. She felt arms encircle her and her body was being pressed against something soft.

"Hello," said the familiar voice, but she couldn't place it.

"Hi," she replied, opening her eyes slowly to peer at her rescuer. Her vision, however, was blurry and the person who held her in their arms was half-hidden in shadow.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Inuyasha…?" Kagome asked, in a daze. But, no, it could not be. The speaker was too polite to be Inuyasha. "I'm… I'm fine." _I think,_ she added silently.

"Are you sure?" he asked, doubt and concern both mixed in his voice.

She nodded in response, then realized she was clinging to the person in a death grip. She hastily let go, a blush on her face that she was glad he couldn't see because of the darkness. He gently set her on her feet, steadying her when she almost fell because of her wobbly knees. Kagome looked up to thank him, only to have her breath catch in her throat. It was the emerald-eyed fox that had caught her and it was he that was currently looking at her with a worried expression.

Realizing she was staring—but how could she not stare? Every time she saw those oh-so green eyes they startled her and sent a shiver down her spine—Kagome began to talk as to get her mind of the beautiful kitsune in front of her.

"I fell through a mirror, what happened to you?"

He smiled and said, "I opened the door to go outside and I was in the hallway, but as soon I closed it, suddenly I was here in front of an entirely different door."

"Where is here?" Kagome wondered, looking around her.

"I don't know. I believe though, that it is the basement."

"Where's everyone else?"

He eyed her oddly and she warmed under the gaze of his green eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when I woke up everyone had gone and they had left me behind," Kagome said, unaware that her words had a bitter taste and there was a trace of hurt in them.

Kurama shook his head. "They wouldn't do that though. Maybe the house had already tricked them into going some place alone."

"So this house is trying to split us up?" She felt relieved. Then they had not left her behind.

"Exactly."

"Then why are we together?"

Kurama had no good answer so he said, "luck, I suppose."

Kagome shrugged and declared, "come on, let's go look for the others."

He complied although he had the feeling that they would not find the others unless the house wanted them to. This house seemed to be playing its own game and all the people inside were just pieces to be moved around.

Kurama walked behind her through the narrow hallway, his eyes lingered on her body in a longing manner. He recalled how soft her body had been when he had caught her and how she clung to him…. He pushed the thoughts away, somewhat frustrated. He should not be thinking such thoughts, especially when the girl in front of him already belonged to another man. Or another demon he should say.

* * *

Sango woke up when she heard Kagome's sudden movements, followed by the other girls, though they were slower to wake. 

"Kagome, what's wrong?" Sango called, but the girl did not respond. Kagome went on as if she had not heard, going over to the clothes that had been laid out on the bed. Without a word she began changing, a hurt and worried expression on her face.

"Kagome," Sango said more urgent the second time, but again was ignored. It was as though Kagome could not hear her. The miko headed for the door, leading outside the room, causing Sango to frown. Kagome shouldn't be going out alone.

Sango sat up groggily in her sleeping bag and got to her feet. She quickly scanned the room and saw dark blue jeans and a white tank top appear on the dresser, which she put on in a hurry, meaning to follow her friend.

"Kagome, where are you going?"

Suddenly Kagome stopped and turned around. Did she finally hear Sango calling? But no, she seemed to look right through her. She walked straight toward the demon slayer, who quickly jumped out of her way when they almost collided. The miko was oblivious to it, even when she almost stepped on Botan as she made her way to the other side of the room.

"Watch where you're stepping!" Botan called, a little annoyed.

"Something's not right," Yukina said.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Sango told the koorime. She eyed Kagome as she reached the long mirror and touched it timidly. Her hand passed right through. "I don't think you should—"

Kagome lurched forward as though something had pushed her and went tumbling into the mirror with a cry. Those that were still half-asleep jumped to their feet instantly, reaching out, but she was already gone.

"_Kagome_!"

Sango was the first to reach the mirror, but it was entirely solid. She ran both hands over it, but they did not go through. It was a normal mirror, her reflection staring back at her with the same shocked expression on it.

She turned back to the other girls when Keiko yelled and pointed, saying, "Sango! Watch—" but she did not even get to finish in time.

The closet door swung open and the door hit the wall with a large bang that made them jump. Sango whirled around just in time to see two demonic hands reach out from the darkness. They grabbed her in an embrace before she could even move, squeezing her tightly. Before the three other girls could reach her, the hands brought her into the closet and the door slammed, closing behind them.

* * *

Hiei sat, looking outside as the sun began to rise. All of the others in the room slept contently, but he had not been able to find sleep again after he had woken up in the middle of the night. 

He looked at Kurama as he rose and went to the door. Looking back at the fire demon, all he said was, "I'll be back soon." Hiei nodded slightly and felt no worry. Kurama could take care of himself.

The door opened and closed silently and all was quiet once more.

Without warning, the ground beneath him turned into a black, sticky glue sort of substance. He tried to move away using his speed, but the black liquid held the lower part of his body in place. He fought it, but his body continued to sink. When only his head remained above the substance, his feet began to meet air. Obviously the house did not want to kill him yet, only transport him somewhere. Hiei stilled when he realized this and he slipped right through, falling to whatever lay beneath him.

He fell with a start on something soft. Using his arms, he hoisted himself up, only to see he was looking down the line of a woman's body. He glanced up and his eyes locked with the slayer's.

"So glad I could break you fall," Sango said sarcastically, though her words came out breathy. Their bodies were molded together, almost every inch touching besides what he propped up with his arms.

"Hn," he said as he rolled off her sensuous body quickly.

Sango got up slowly, feeling sore after she'd fallen to the ground with him on top of her. She avoided looking at Hiei as she did, while wishing she had her regular clothes. These modern day clothes were too revealing for her. The jeans emphasized her every curve, leaving hardly anything for the imagination and the white tank top was too low in front. She felt as though her breast were being offered up like fruit. Why not just have a sign over her chest that read "come and get it!"?

Hiei hid as smirk as he read her mind during that last sentence. He kept his emotionless mask up as he always did though, not wanting her to know what he was feeling. He glanced at her as she wiped imaginary dirt off her jeans. The jeans she wore seemed to hug her hips and the shirt showed off her flat stomach as well as the feminine muscles on her arms, not to mention her breasts. He immediately drew away his gaze when she turned to him.

The fire demon next to her stood with his arms crossed, obviously anything but happy. Even though he was short he had a certain air about him that made him seem taller and superior to others, though Sango was not buying it. She rubbed her sore arms where the nail prints were on them.

Hiei looked over to her. "What did you do?"

"I got pulled down here by the boogie monster. You?" she asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Fell through some sort of liquid," he said.

She didn't even try to hide her smile. "Now I don't feel as bad." A small "hn," was his only response, which annoyed her.

"Is that your favorite word, or something?" she inquired.

He turned his back on her, beginning to walk away. "I'll be leaving now."

"What?" Sango asked, alarmed. "You're going to leave me in this creepy house on my own?"

"What are you scared? Need a babysitter?"

Her eyes narrowed and she spun around, her arms crossed. "Fine, jerk."

"Baka."

He left in a blur toward one of the doors while Sango glanced over one of her shoulders to watch him. The house groaned at this, and abruptly all the doors in the room disappeared. Not at all put out, he tried to keep going down the hallway instead, but he hit an invisible barrier. He slammed into it headfirst and slid across the floor until he was a couple feet away from Sango.

"Looks like the house wants us to stay together," Sango told him sweetly, gazing down at him. She offered him no hand up; one, because she didn't want to help him in any way, and two, she knew he would not accept the help up anyway.

He rose to his feet, glaring at her the entire time. "Shut up, _ningen_," Hiei told her as he walked slowly back over to her. He walked like a predator stalking toward his pray.

"Demon trash," she spat, as they began to circle each other.

"Wench."

"I've killed demons for less than those words," she informed him.

"Then how come you haven't killed Inuyasha yet? Or are you not strong enough to get rid of one hanyou, demon slayer?" he replied, saying her title in a mocking way.

They turned and circled each other in the opposite direction, looking for weakness in the other. It was unsure if they were actually going to fight, though there was much tension between them. Sango hoped they would not since she did not have a weapon with her, but still she circled him as though they were two equal predators.

"I only kill evil demons."

"Are you calling me evil?" he said with a devious smirk.

"I call them as I see them," she said. She did not mention that when she first met Inuyasha she had tried to kill him and failed. Of course, she had also been nearly dead when she tried to hunt him, thanks to Naraku.

Hiei heard this in her mind and responded out loud, "you're no threat to me, you couldn't even kill the _hanyou_."

She stopped abruptly, staring. "You just read my mind!" Sango yelled, surprised, although she thought she recalled the spirit detective saying something along those lines about the fire demon in front of her.

"Hn."

"Do you always speak like that?" she asked, irritated.

"No, usually I'm laconic," he said dryly.

"UGH! I give up!" Sango said, throwing her hands up in an 'I surrender' gesture.

A smile tugged at Hiei's lips, but he forced himself to keep his face straight. He wondered if he should have smiled though, if only to tick the demon slayer off more.

Content that he had won their war of insults, they both continued on together, though Sango was extremely displeased.

* * *

The three girls stared in horror as they looked at where Kagome and Sango had disappeared. Two of their numbers were already gone. They quickly changed while stealing glances at the mirror and closet. What had happened to the two girls? Were they… dead? 

Botan slowly approached the closet door. She grabbed the handle and turned it silently then suddenly threw it open, jumping back, but nothing was there. The closet was completely empty.

They heard the door open behind them and all three of the girls whirled, Botan grabbing her oar. She hit the first thing that came into the room.

"OW!" Yusuke yelled as he rubbed the back of his head.

A few of the guys came into the room, though the girls noticed with some pains that Hiei and Kurama were missing. Had what happened to the girls happened to them? Or had they just not decided to come?

"Oh, sorry! I thought you were a monster," Botan explained.

"Oh, thanks," he said dryly.

"We heard yelling," Miroku told them. "And we thought you might be in some trouble."

"Where's Kagome?" asked Inuyasha, looking around the room.

"Kagome fell through the mirror and something came from the closet and took Sango away!" Keiko cried.

"_What_?" Inuyasha and Miroku shouted while the other three looked shocked.

"_Kagome_!" the hanyou yelled. He went to the mirror, but his fingertips touched the solid glass and refused to go through like Kagome's hand had. He growled in frustration and took out his sword, intent on blasting the mirror away.

"Don't be an idiot, Inuyasha! Or more of the one that you already are!" Shippo cried. "Kagome might be trapped in a mirror world and you could destroy her!"

He sheathed his sword, unhappily. The little squirt was right though. Destroying the mirror would do nothing except shower the room with broken glass causing only more injury. Damn, he hated when the kitsune was right.

"Where are Kurama and Hiei?" Yukina asked worriedly.

"We just figured they went out on their own. They do that sometimes," Yusuke informed them.

"But they could have been taken like the girls," Miroku concluded.

"Ha ha, shorty got tricked by the house," Kuwabara said.

Inuyasha growled. "We have to find the girls."

Yusuke walked over the closet and opened the door, examining the insides. Shippo did the same. "Seems normal to me. And empty too," he said.

"Yusuke, I wouldn't get too close…" Keiko said.

"Oh come on, Keiko. What could happen?"

He spoke too soon. He took a step into the closet, but the floor was not solid like it should have been. He began to fall, though managed to grab onto part of the ground, the rest of him dangling off the side, though appeared as though his body had merged with the floor.

Keiko cried out to him, but could do no more in time. Shippo grabbed one of Yusuke's arms and tried to help him up, but the solid ground the Spirit Detective had been holding on to disappeared and both Yusuke and Shippo fell into the unknown.

The closet door closed behind them and the door flickered out of existence, taken away by the house. All were too shocked to move while they stared at the place where the door had been. Keiko sat heavily on the bed behind her, her legs not able to hold her anymore.

"Yusuke…" she whispered, frightened. What had happened to him? Was he… still alive?

Miroku sat down next to the scared girl and put a timid hand on her shoulder, sitting down next to her. "Are you okay?"

"I just saw my boyfriend fall down a hole, do you think I'm okay?" Keiko said, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She meant to have said it angrily, but it came out a hoarse whisper.

"I'm sorry, it was a stupid question."

He removed the hand from her shoulder, but did not move away. Maybe it would have been better if one of the girls would have comforted her, but the remaining two were too shocked at the moment.

She leaned her head on the edge of his shoulder and said, not looking at him, "No—"

She did not get to finish her sentence. The bed began to melt into the wall like it had done the other. Both tried to move, but found themselves unable to move from the bed as it got sucked into the wall. Keiko screamed as both melted into the house along with the mattress. Her scream still filled the room even after she was merged with the house, then suddenly there was silence.

The four remaining people watched in horror, unable to do anything for their two friends. They were dropping like flies, only four remaining together now. Yukina walked backward into Kuwabara's embrace while Botan moved toward Inuyasha.

"You seem to be the strongest one left, I'm staying near you," Botan told Inuyasha.

"Hey!" Kuwabara said.

"Oh, lighten up. I doubt they're all dead yet. I think the house is just having a bit of fun with us. All we need to do is find the rest and stick together," she explained, not mentioning that the 'yet' factor was a big issue. They might not be dead at the moment, but there was no doubt the house was about to try something soon.

"You seem so confident," Yukina whispered.

"If this house has been planning this for over one hundred years, it won't kill us so quickly." _I hope,_ Botan added silently. The longer the house took before it tried to kill them, the more time they had to escape.

The room then began to split into two rooms with Inuyasha and Botan on one side and Yukina and Kuwabara on the other. Botan tried to run to the other side, but an invisible barrier kept her away.

"We'll meet up with you later!" Botan told the other two with false cheerfulness. Hey, it was not easy being cheerful all the time.

Finally the room split completely, leaving the two pairs in two separate rooms, probably in two different sections of the mansion.

"I think we should stay together," Botan told the hanyou. _Although we might not have much of a choice…_ she thought.

"Feh," Inuyasha said.

"Is that a yes?"

"I just want to find Kagome." _Who knows what trouble she'll get herself into alone,_ Inuyasha thought worriedly.


	7. Still Separated

**_Deadly Games _**

**Chapter Seven: Still Separated **

* * *

_Clack. Clack._

Her shoes made sharp clacking noises as she walked on the tiled floor. The hall was silent except for the noise Kagome made with the ever so silent Kurama following behind her.

"Kurama?" she asked softly.

Her voice tickled his senses. "Yes?" he asked just as softly.

She felt the hairs at the back of her neck prickle from his so soft voice. "Do you think what happened to us happened to the others?"

"In what way?"

"You know, how we got split from the group… do you think that happened to the others too?"

He did not respond for a few moments, then said, "I suppose so. If it happened to us, it's reasonable to assume the others had similar fates. They're probably matched up with someone else wandering around this house."

"I feel sorry for any girl besides Sango who gets paired up with Miroku," Kagome murmured to herself, though she was sure Kurama had heard, especially with his acute hearing.

"Why besides Sango?"

"Well, she can handle herself when it comes to Miroku, but the others…" she said, worriedly.

"I'm sure they'll be just fine. Keiko has that kind of relationship with Yusuke, with much slapping involved so she'd be fine with him. Botan can handle herself and Yukina also, being a koorime."

She looked over her shoulder and gave him a quick smile. He found himself smiling back at her, though she turned away swiftly and continued walking in a hurried fashion.

She did not know why Kurama affected her so much. Maybe it was because of his startling appearance that would be an eye catcher in any crowd and the ladies no doubt melted at the sight of him. Or maybe it could have been how polite he always was and how caring he always seemed.

_Damn it,_ Kagome thought, _I'm falling for him fast._

But wait, she loved Inuyasha! She knew it had to be true because of how much it hurt when Kikyo came and stole Inuyasha away for hours at a time. She knew the stabbing feeling in her heart every time Inuyasha stared off into the distance, knowing he was thinking of the undead priestess. It was hard, being second best in someone's heart. With Kurama… but no, he did not think of her that way. Even if he did, she still did love Inuyasha, there was no denying that anymore. They had been through so much together…

Either way, she was worried about Inuyasha and the others, even the new friends she made her. All she hoped was that they were alright and that they would all be alive next time she saw them.

* * *

_Stupid… little… annoying… demon_, thought Sango furiously as they yet again traded insults and he ended up the winner. She swore if she had her hiraikotsu, she would have turned it into a _real_ fight.

Hiei glared over at her. "Would you stop thinking so loud?" His voice sounded annoyed as he said it, but inside he was smiling at her displeasure.

She glared right back. "Would you _stop_ reading my mind?"

"Hn."

She resisted the urge to smack him. If it had been Miroku or even Inuyasha, she would have. Hell, she would have even slapped Yusuke or Kuwabara if they had got annoying enough, but she could not slap the demon. If she did, it would end in a fight, which she knew she would not win. He moved too damn fast. So instead she balled her hands into fists and gritted her teeth.

The air in the hallway they were in began to pick up suddenly. It became a gust of wind trying to push them back the way they came. What could create such a wind? They tried to walk through it, but it proved difficult as the wind got stronger and stronger. Hiei had a harder time than Sango, being smaller. If they got swept away by the wind now they would keep going until they met something solid, probably a wall. Then SPLAT! to anyone who hit it because of the high velocity of the wind.

She spotted a room to the side and headed for it, not caring if Hiei followed her or not. Then by chance she glanced back and saw Hiei being lifted into the air.

"Hiei!" Sango yelled.

She grabbed one of his arms and with herself, threw them into a random room on the side of the hallways. Both stumbled into the room and the door slammed shut behind them, leaving the two in total darkness. They landed on top of one another in the dark.

There was silence between them for awhile. Why had she saved him? That was what went through both their minds, along with other mixed feelings. It made no sense to either of them really. It was quite obvious to everyone around that one did not like the other. Then why did she help him?

"Get your dirty human hands off me," Hiei snapped, taking his arm out of her grip.

"Well, sorry for saving you!" she retorted, moving away from the fire demon.

The room was dark, but she did not care if she ran into anything, she just wanted to be away. Both were still on the floor and Sango leaned up against one of the walls.

"I don't need your help," he said.

"And I suppose you don't need anyone else's help either."

"That's right."

"Everybody needs someone," she said quietly.

"I don't," he told her curtly.

"Well that kind of sucks."

That peaked his interest, he had expected her to argue with him some more. "Why?"

"Because then you're all alone. To not have anyone…? I'm glad I have my friends to be with. What about you?"

"Friends are for the feeble. Friends lead to trust and you can't trust anyone."

"True enough," she said softly.

He was startled by her statement. "What?" _She's agreeing with me?_ he thought silently.

"Complete trust can never be given. Everyone will betray you at one point or another. But you still need people, friends to care about, to love so that your life is worth living. Haven't you ever loved anybody? Or been loved?"

His mind immediately flashed to Yukina. Yes, she was his sister and he did care for her even if she did not know he was her brother. But love? He was not even sure if he was capable of love. Did anyone love him? He was sure of that answer: No. He never let anyone get close to him anyway, so he could not see how anyone could love him.

Hiei did not like where this conversation had gone at all. Arguing, yelling, fighting, any of that he could handle and amuse himself while he was at it. But a meaningful talk about love and trust? No, he could not do that.

"No," he told her flatly.

He could see her in the dark of the room and her gaze saddened at his words. "That's horrible."

"I don't want your pity!" he yelled. He did not like their conversation; he liked yelling at the huntress at lot better. "Look here you little bitch—"

That was all he needed to get her started. "Who are you calling bitch, asshole?"

"Who are you calling an asshole?"

"Bastard," she murmured.

"You have me quivering with your snappy comebacks," he told her, mockingly.

"Ugh! Forget everything I've said! Forget this whole conversation! It never happened alright?"

"Fine by me, wench."

"To think I even tried to have a normal conversation with you! It's just… _ugh_!"

Sango got up and stormed out of the room, not caring if the wind was still there or not. It wasn't. Hiei felt himself being drawn to her and he wordlessly followed behind.

* * *

Yusuke got up with a groan, his head aching. He didn't have to touch the lump on his head to know it was there; it hurt enough to make its presence known all on its own. He must have hit his head badly when… what happened? Oh, right, he fell. He remembered, he'd fallen through an illusionary floor with the smaller kitsune in tow.

He glanced up to see two furballs near him. One was Shippo who was still unconscious and the other was Sango's demonic pet, Kirara. He did not remember the small fire neko youkai being there, so where had it come from?

Kirara's two tails twitched anxiously like the youkai was trying to tell him something, but Yusuke was not sure what.

Yusuke nudged the small kitsune beside him. "Shippo, wake up!"

"Five more minutes," he murmured and rolled over.

"This isn't a time for sleeping, _wake up_!" Yusuke yelled. Who knows what could be happening to the girls while they were here?

Shippo jumped to his feet, suddenly wide-awake. The small kitsune looked at the equally small demon. "Hi, Kirara! When did you get here?"

Kirara again twitched her tail eagerly and Shippo turned to Yusuke. "She wants us to follow her. I think she can find the others."

"Then what are we waiting for?" he inquired. "Lead the way, Kirara."

The youkai bobbed her head in a nod-like fashion and began scampering down the hallway. Yusuke and Shippo ran to catch up.

"Why couldn't she just transform and we could ride on her?" Yusuke murmured. In response, Shippo only jumped onto Yusuke's shoulder for a free ride. Yusuke could only roll his eyes.

* * *

Keiko walked beside Miroku as they searched for the others. They had both fallen unconscious when they had merged with the house and had regained awareness sometime later on the same bed, but in a very different place in the mansion.

Miroku had made a move on her when they first awoke, but a hit him over the head with his own staff had put him in his place. He blamed it on the sleeping arrangement they were put in.

"What was I suppose to do when I found myself waking up to a beautiful girl clinging to me?" he had asked.

Keiko had rolled her eyes, although she blushed and they had continued on.

"Do you really think the others are okay?" Keiko asked him for the hundredth time, worriedly.

Miroku, of course, did not yell and only answered her question with a small smile for the hundredth time. "I'm sure that since we're fine, they are probably fine too. The house could have probably easily killed us when we were merged with it during the time period we were on the bed, but it didn't. Now let's so find the rest of our party."

"I hope Yusuke's alright…" Keiko mumbled.

"I've seen you slap him many times, but you do care for him…?" he asked her, leaving room for her to answer.

"Well, yeah, I do. We've been friends since childhood and well… I just care for him a lot." Then she seemed to understand the hidden meaning in his words. "Tell me, Miroku, do you _care_ for Sango the way I _care_ for Yusuke?"

Miroku looked away from her accusing gaze. "I don't know what you mean. But I am concerned for her safety."

Keiko smiled. _Just what I thought_.

Keiko abruptly stopped when something darted between her legs and she spun around to catch a glimpse of it. It stopped when it noticed her gaze. She immediately recognized the small demon as Kirara. She mewled softly as she regarded the human with a tilt of her head.

"Kirara! How'd you get here?" Keiko asked.

From the direction Kirara had come from, Yusuke with Shippo on his shoulder came running into view. "Damn that youkai can run fast," he panted.

There Yusuke stood, his hands on his knees as he panted, catching his breath. Shippo made a jump from Yusuke's shoulder to Miroku's. Keiko was stunned and her breath caught in her throat. Yusuke and Shippo had found them. Yusuke… was here and he was all right.

"Yusuke!" Keiko cried out, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him.

He looked shocked for a second, but then hugged the girl back, his arms around her back. Yusuke then noticed Miroku's presence. He withdrew from the hug, but kept a protective arm around Keiko's waist, surprising her.

"I'm sure Miroku has been taking good care of you and has been the perfect gentleman," Yusuke said. Miroku raised an eyebrow and Yusuke did the same right back.

"Oh, Miroku was just looking after me. He really was a gentleman," Keiko said hurriedly, not mentioning the fact that when they had both woken up he had tried something.

"Uh-huh," Yusuke said, not really believing her.

"Hey! Where's Kirara going!" Shippo yelled.

They watched as Kirara sped out of view.

"Where are you going? You're supposed to take us to the others!" Yusuke called after the cat. Finally, he let go of Keiko and started after the youkai, but Miroku put a hand on his arm.

"She's probably going to find the others. We have our own problems," Miroku told him, looking at the countless number of demons heading toward them in either direction.


	8. Come Together

**_Deadly Games _**

**__**

**Chapter Eight: Come Together **

* * *

The demons walked toward them like brainless goons, dragging themselves and moving slowly forward. Keiko moved to the side while holding Shippo close. Miroku stood back to back with Yusuke, each facing numerous demons as they came down the hallway from both ways.

With a small smirk, Yusuke blasted all the demon zombies on his side, obliterating them. At the same time, Miroku's left hand reached for the rosary beads around his arms. A great force of wind came out of his right palm, sucking up all the demons in front of him.

The demons never even had a chance. When they all had disappeared, he quickly replaced the beads around his hand. He only hoped there was no one down that hallway, since then they could have been sucked up in his wind tunnel along with the demons.

"So that's what those beads are for," Keiko said, awed.

"Yes, it's my curse from Naraku, but it serves as a good weapon," he explained. "I don't like what just happened though…. It seems too easy."

"Maybe the house just didn't know how powerful the two of you were," Keiko suggested.

Both boys exchanged a doubtful look, but shrugged. No need to worry about something that was over and done with.

* * *

Kurama walked beside Kagome while they traveled aimlessly through the house's basement. Kurama sensed a presence up ahead, a demon presence and not one he was familiar with. He lightly put a hand on Kagome's shoulder and she was about to ask a question, but Kurama shook his head. He put a finger to his lips to silence her as he pulled her into the shadows so that the demon would not notice them yet. He'd rather observe first and fight later if he had to.

He lowered his lips to her ear and murmured, "there's a demon coming our way. Stay close to me."

She basked in the warmth of his body so close to hers and gave a small nod in reply. He moved away—much to her disappointment—and tugged lightly on one of her hands, signaling her to follow him. She obeyed and followed as they moved through the shadows.

A gruesome demon suddenly appeared after turning into the hallway. He could have been a normal human if it had not been for the fact that most of his skin was scaly and some other demon features. He had two large fangs instead of normal teeth and a long tongue slithered out between the teeth, resembling that of a snake.

"Come out, come out wherever you are…" the demon taunted, searching through the hallway. His eyes landed on the shadows that hid the two. "I see you. Come out of hiding. It's time to play."

Kurama walked out of the shadows with Kagome at his heels. His hand reached up behind his hair and pulled out a rose that immediately turned to his rose whip. He held it loosely at his side, but Kagome knew at any moment he could crack the whip and slice anything in his way in half.

"No hiding is necessary now that I've seen you," Kurama replied.

The demon ran forward, faster than any human could run. He reached out toward Kagome, and one of his nails scratched the side of her arm, but missed anything that would have been vital. He continued past her until he hit the wall with a large force. Kurama easily flicked his wrist with the whip and split the demon in half. Just like that, the fight was over.

"That was simple," Kagome said.

"Yes, maybe too simple?" Kurama commented. He looked back at Kagome and noticed her bleeding arm. "You're hurt."

She looked down at her arm. "So I am. I didn't even notice it." Noticing his worried and disbelieving gaze, she added, "Really. It's only a scratch and it doesn't hurt that much."

Without a word he ripped off part of his sleeve and wrapped her injured arm, ignoring her protests. Why was he so kind to her all the time? Where Inuyasha might have shrugged at such a small injury, Kurama became concerned. Not that Inuyasha did not care, it was just that he never troubled himself with worrying about the less dangerous wounds.

"That'll do for now, but it might be poisonous so we'll have to check it soon," he told her.

"Poisonous?" she asked.

"Yes, that was a snake demon and sometimes their fangs and nails are poisonous. I thought maybe that's why it was so easy to kill it, but usually you'd react to the poison right away, so I doubt your wound is infected."

She would have asked more but the whole entire hallway began to shake. Kagome grabbed onto Kurama's arm to steady herself and to stop herself from falling over to the floor. It could have been an earthquake, but somehow Kagome knew it was not. A small square on the wall that the demon had touched sunk inward. _A trigger_, she thought. That must have been why the demon was so easily killed. It was only meant to trigger whatever was making the room tremble.

Suddenly a huge boulder dropped from the ceiling and began rolling toward them at an alarming speed. And even more fun, Kagome and Kurama were slightly downhill from it and it was rolling their way.

"I suggest we run," Kurama said, his reaction time a lot faster then her own.

"Yeah," Kagome said faintly.

Kurama tugged on her arm and they began running as fast all they could down the hallway. All the doors that had been there before had disappeared and the hallway they were in was a long one, seeming to stretch into infinity, which made it another one of the house's tricks. An image of a flattened Kagome flashed through her mind and she tried to pick up the pace, but she was already running as fast as she could. What was worse was she knew she was slowing Kurama down, but he would not leave her behind and carrying her would make him even slower.

The room continued to tremble and the boulder was coming after them noisily. If she had yelled, she would not even have been able to hear herself. She had to glance over at Kurama every once and a while to make sure he was still there. Her breath began to come in pants and her legs protested, wanting to slow down but she only urged them on.

The boulder gained on them while Kurama looked around for a way to escape it. They would not make it to the end of the hallway, if there was an end to it, he was certain of that. They only had minutes before it did flatten them and by the size of the boulder, he was sure no one would survive being crushed by it. He could not use his rose whip because if he did, there would still be huge chunks of the boulder left and it would most likely hit them and injury them severely.

Then he saw it. There was a small notch in the wall to the left of them, coming up soon. It was just big enough to fit one standing person, two if they squeezed. He tugged Kagome with him and she followed him as he led.

They ran to the side, the boulder coming closer and closer. Kurama hoped that they would not pass the notch in an attempt to get to it before the boulder did. They reached it and Kurama would have sighed in relief if he had had the time. Kurama pushed Kagome in first, silently apologizing for his roughness, and then went in after her, pressing her against the wall just in time. Only moments later the boulder passed them, taking the noise and the shaking of the room away with it as it continued down the long hallway.

Kurama was pressed up against Kagome, pushing her hard against the wall. His head was next to hers, his face buried in her hair. Her breath was coming in large gasps that she tried to keep quiet, but was failing. Her pulse had sped up to five times its normal rate.

He removed his face from her hair and pressed his cheek against hers, as her breath quieted. Her soft front was pressed up against him and he could feel her heart pounding against her chest and in effect, his chest. He closed his eyes and murmured in her ear. "Your heart is racing."

Kagome did not know how to reply. Yes, her heart was beating rapidly not only from the terror of what just happened, but also from how close he was to her. His breath was warm as it tickled the senses on her ear and she shivered from it. Taking the shiver as an invitation, his hands that had been at his sides moved to grip her waist firmly and her breath caught in her throat. Kurama moved his head back so that he could look Kagome in the eyes. His startling green ones had a sort of glow to them even through the darkness. His face was too close; his body, even closer. The smell of roses overwhelmed her completely.

His eyes held a craving in them that made her breath become ragged. His lips were brought down near hers, wanting to taste her sweet lips, though they hovered over hers, waiting for a sign from her, a sign that she wanted him to continue.

A large bam caught their attention, jolting them both out of their trance, and they knew the boulder had crashed into the end of the hallway. Then Kagome noticed something out of the corner of her eye.

"Kirara?" she said.

The fire neko youkai stood in the middle of the wall way licking her paw in a bored manner. Kurama moved away from Kagome and out of the hole in the wall. Kagome followed, but her legs screamed in protest and she found herself beginning to fall over. Kurama caught her before she hit the ground and helped level her as she stood, though she refused to meet his eyes.

"What are you doing here, Kirara?" Kagome asked, though she was silently thankfully for the interruption. Her cheeks were a deep shade a red and she felt as if their color would never return to normal.

Kirara made eye contact with the kitsune and began walking away in the direction the boulder had come from before.

"I believe we're supposed to follow her," Kurama told her.

"Wait! I can't walk that fast," Kagome called after the small youkai. _If I can walk at all,_ she added silently.

Kirara turned around and walked back over, turning into her larger form. Kurama picked up Kagome and placed her gently on the youkai's back, all his senses on fire as he held her slender waist again, but he ignored the warm feeling throughout him. Kurama began to move away, but Kirara looked back at Kurama as though telling him to get on too. Kurama complied and got on behind Kagome. Then the fire neko youkai sped off down the corridor.

* * *

"This is pointless!" Sango yelled, her words echoing through the room.

Both huntress and fire demon stood in the middle of a huge room, probably meant to be a ballroom at one point, but now, it was huge, empty, and dust-covered.

Hiei moved up to stand next to the demon slayer, looking around the large area. "What's pointless?"

"We're walking around this damn house, but it doesn't make sense because this house dictates wherever we go. It can make us go anywhere it wants, so why do we even bother going anywhere? Why not just wait for the others to find us?" she asked, not really expecting him to answer.

"Hn. Are you that big of an idiot? If we just stay still it'll just send something after us, something to destroy us."

"But if we move, we walk right into another trap."

"I never said we had any control over it, but I'd rather move then stay still."

She did not want to agree with the demon so she folded her arms over her chest and sat down on the ground. "You can go, I'll stay here."

To her surprise, he grabbed her elbow, yanking her upward and forcing her onto her feet. "This house won't let me go anywhere without you so get up and let's move."

"Why should I do anything you want?" she asked, stubbornly.

He brought her face down to his and said low and menacingly, "if you don't move, then I'll kill you and then the house will have to let me go on my own."

"Which is probably what it wants you to do," she spat back.

"If it means getting rid of you, I don't care if I assist it for once," he growled.

"So, you're going to be its little murdering pet. Would you kill the others also, if it wanted you to?"

"I'm no one's pet," he stated.

"Ha, you could have fooled me," she said mockingly.

He took his sword out of its sheath that was at his side. Sango eyed it warily, but her next words were emotionless, masking up the well of emotion that swelled inside her.

"Are you going to kill me now?"

He switched the sword from one hand to the other while answering, "I was thinking about it."

"Evil," she spat out.

"Thank you," he said with a sly smile.

Her eyes held a furious look as he lifted the sword up to touch her neck. She was forced to tilt her head upward to try to stay as comfortable as a person can be with a sword at their throat, while still trying to look at the demon. She did not even attempt to move away since she had no weapon to fight him with, though even if she did, knowing his speed, Sango doubted she would be able to hit him.

Hiei saw her staring daggers at him and held her gaze as his sword touched the tender skin of her neck. The girl infuriated him more than anyone else, even more than the idiot Kuwabara. He wasn't even sure _why_ he hated the girl so much even before they had ever spoken to each other. When they did finally talk, all they did was spit insults out at each other anyway.

His blade slid across her neck to the other side with just enough pressure so that it did not cut and only trailed across her skin roughly, which was painful, but bearable. A growl of aggravation started low in Sango's throat and a small smile appeared on Hiei's lips.

The door abruptly burst open and in came the larger form of Sango's pet, carrying two passengers. Hiei had sheathed his sword before they had even taken a step into the room. He was beside Sango instead of in front of her in the blink of an eye and said, "it seems luck is with you."

She glared at him then looked at the cat demon that came racing toward her. Kirara stopped when she was in front of her, and Kagome slid off her, ignoring the pain in her limbs. Sango rushed over to her friend and hugged her tightly.

"Thank God, you got here just in time. Another few minutes with him," Sango jerked her head in Hiei's direction, "and I would have gone insane." _Or I would have been dead,_ she added in a thought.

From Hiei's smile she could tell he had just read her mind again. With a cold glare at him, she turned back to her friend.

"I'm so glad you're alright though, I wasn't sure what happened to you after you fell through that mirror," Sango told her.

Kagome frowned at that and said, "Wait, what? No one was in the room when I went through it."

Sango eyed her oddly. "What are you talking about? Everyone was in the room and we saw you fall through before we knew what was happening." From Kagome's confused look she added, "you probably couldn't see us or hear us. We kept calling your name, but you didn't respond."

Kagome nodded. "I didn't know anyone else was there. I thought all of you had left."

Sango gave her another quick hug when she saw the hurt look in her friend's eyes. "Of course we didn't leave you."

Meanwhile, Kurama spoke to Hiei, while Hiei continued to stare at the demon slayer. "Well she's still alive, I guess that means you behaved yourself."

"Hn. Showed up any later and she'd have been dead," Hiei said, though he was not sure how true his words really were.

He had only held the sword to her neck as a threat. If he really wanted to, he could have killed her before she knew what had happened, but he had given her the chance to plea for her life. Of course, she had not begged, though he had not expected her to. However, she had not yelled at him like he had expected, only glared.

Kurama shook his head in a disapproving way. "Hiei… can't you get along with anyone?"

He gave no response.

Kirara changed back to her smaller form and used her claws to climb up Sango's clothing until she was resting on Sango's shoulders. She rubbed against the side of Sango's face and Sango petted her absentmindedly.

"How did you find us?" Sango asked. "I thought the house was trying to keep us all apart."

"It is, but Kirara seemed to be able to find you. She knew exactly where to bring us," Kurama responded.

"Well, then we should go and find the others, now that we have Kirara to lead us," Sango said.

"So now you want to move," Hiei commented.

Ignoring him partially because she knew he was right, Sango placed Kirara back on the floor, who changed into her large form again. Kagome and Sango climbed on while the two walked beside the fire neko youkai.

While traveling, Sango and Kagome exchanged stories of what had happened to them, though Kagome left out the part about Kurama being practically on top of her. Neither did Sango mention how Hiei almost killed her or about the first normal conversation they ever had, if normal was the word for it. They would probably discuss the left out parts later, but not in front of the other two members of their party, who were listening to them as they talked, Kurama putting in a few comments here and there.

"The wind…" Kagome murmured to herself.

"What was that, Kagome?" Sango inquired.

"You said the wind picked up…. Could that have been Miroku's wind tunnel?" Kagome asked, hesitantly.

Sango seemed to consider it. "Miroku, you are so dead next time I see you…" Sango murmured to herself.

They wandered around the hallways, not sure exactly where they were going, but it was alright since Kirara seemed to have an intent destination. The long day finally waned and the night came at full force. There were no windows to actually see the dark, but they could feel it weigh down on them. Kagome found herself half-asleep in her upright position on Kirara.

The sounds of fighting woke her up and alerted the others. Kirara sped up and turned a corner to see Inuyasha and Botan fighting a demon almost as tall as the high ceiling. Well, more like Inuyasha was fighting and Botan was on the side criticizing him.

"Come on, get on with it and kill the demon already," Botan declared with her arms folded over her chest.

Inuyasha glared at her angrily. "It's not as easy as it looks!" he exclaimed. He swung his Tetsusaiga at the demon, but its skin was rock solid and the sword did not make a dent.

"Well use the wind thing!" Botan yelled to him. She did not seem to have a doubt that Inuyasha would win in the end and had no remorse over bugging him while he fought.

"I have to see the wind scar to use it, baka!" Inuyasha called back.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted, sliding off the youkai. Her legs were still a little stiff, but most of the pain had left during the long ride.

Inuyasha heard the feminine voice. Wait, he knew that voice. He turned her way. "Kagome!"

Distracted by her voice, Inuyasha failed to notice the fist that was coming at him. It hit him in his gut and sent him flying into a wall. Inuyasha growled in pain and took his sword, now official annoyed.

"Kaze no Kizu!" he yelled and the glowing yellow streaks of power covered the demon, obliterating it.

"Finally!" Botan said.

Inuyasha, however, ignored her and went over to Kagome, who had started toward him after he slammed into the wall.

"Did you have to distract me like that! You got me blown into a wall!" he yelled when he reached her.

"Well sorry that I spent all this time worrying about you! My apologizes!" she yelled back.

Kurama blinked as the two continued to yell at each other. "Do they do this often?" he asked Sango.

She rolled her eyes and responded, "all the time. They have a weird sort of relationship. It consists of yelling, jealousy on both parts—though mostly from Inuyasha—arguing, and Kagome leaving to go home a lot. Besides that, they're okay around each other because they do care for one another."

Sango had been watching the two fight as she responded to Kurama's question casually, but now she glanced at him. Kurama's face was expressionless, but his eyes held an emotion she could not decipher. Being curious, she would have questioned him, but Kagome's yelling of the word sit, caught everyone's attention. Botan and Sango silently shook their heads as they saw Inuyasha buried in the floor.

Botan turned to Sango with a grin. "Good to see you again alive," she told her cheerfully.

Sango laughed. "Same here. You never lose your cheerfulness do you?"

She shrugged and said, "Nope." Though the words did not exactly ring true, the others accepted the answer.

Greetings were exchanged as Inuyasha grumbled a bit while getting up from the floor. Quickly they moved on, the three girls now riding on Kirara.

Inuyasha was quite disgruntled however. He did not like how Kagome scent was covered in the one of the fox demon or how her arm was hurt, with a piece of Kurama's sleeve wrapped around it. He did not comment, though he left it in the back of his mind to ask her about it later.

Not too long after, Kagome spotted some people coming toward them. It included Keiko, Yusuke, Miroku, and Shippo, who had stumbled upon Kuwabara and Yukina as well. As the two groups joined, they became complete.

"And how was your day?" Yusuke asked the other group, as they approached one another.

"Peachy keen, actually. And you?" Kagome replied pleasantly.

"Oh, we had quite a lovely tea party. Too bad none of you could make it," Yusuke responded and the two speakers exchanged grins.

Inuyasha growled softly so that only the people next to him heard, and Kagome wound up kicking him from her seat on Kirara's back in an attempt to quiet him.

Miroku looked Sango up and down. "Sango, looking as good as ever."

"And I'm alive too," she responded, stealing a quick glance at Hiei, who caught her look and smiled deviously at her. It surprised her since she had expected him to turn away from her gaze.

Miroku caught the look and frowned slightly. Since when were the two even remotely nice to one another? _If_ that smile could be called nice. It had a mischievous tint to it, which he still did not like.

Sango looked back to Miroku again and found herself frowning. He looked extremely pale. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

He gave a thin smile. "I'm fine," he said, not mentioning the fact that he felt a little under the weather. Well, more than a little.

"Time to swap stories and information?" Yusuke asked Kagome.

"Sure."

All conversation was cut short however as Miroku collapsed onto the floor.


	9. Skipping Rocks

**_Deadly Games _**

**Chapter Nine: Skipping Rocks **

* * *

"Miroku!" Sango cried out, as she ran to his side. 

She was at his side in seconds and he was still conscious, but barely. Kagome was right behind her and Keiko also knelt down beside the fallen monk. Sango placed his head gently in her lap and he smiled up at her.

"I fear… the demons I sucked up with my… wind tunnel were poisonous…" he told her. Then his eyes closed and even as she gently shook him, he did not respond.

"Demons?" Sango said, looking up from the monk to look at Keiko.

"We met up with a lot of demons before, and Yusuke took out half of them, and Miroku took out the other half with his wind tunnel," Keiko explained.

"Wind tunnel?" Kurama asked.

"It's an air void that sucks up everything in its path, bringing it to who knows where. It makes an excellent weapon though, except for when things like this happen," Kagome explained.

Sango stroked the side of Miroku's face gently and called Kirara over to her. With the help of Kagome and Yusuke, she laid him on top of Kirara.

Hiei watched in slight annoyance. Why should she care so much for the lecherous monk, who she slapped all the time for his perverted ways? Unless the huntress had feelings for the monk. Now there was a thought that bothered him.

What bothered him more, however, was how he continued to think of the demon slayer. Why should he care at all what she did or how she felt? He had been the one to threaten her life before. He did not even like the girl. Nevertheless, irritation was his strongest emotion.

* * *

"I'm worried about Miroku," Sango said. 

Their traveling that night had ended once Miroku had passed out. They found a room that had a couch, two armchairs, and a fireplace in it and decided to spend the night there. Miroku lay on the couch still out cold and the rest were scattered around the room as conversation went on. Sango and Kagome sat on the floor near the fireplace that had a steady fire going.

They had discussed what had happened to each pair of people and traded what information they had to give to one another, though it was not much.

"You think it's serious then?" Yukina said. Being an ice demon, she sat leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the fireplace with Kuwabara at her side.

"I suppose. I don't like how he hasn't woken up yet," Sango responded looking at her and then the unconscious monk.

"If only we could help…" Kagome began, then thought of something. Long forgotten in her room was her yellow backpack she brought along with her from the past. She had had it with her when they crossed over to the present, but had forgotten about it after bringing it to the girls' bedroom.

"If only I could get to our room…" Kagome said to herself aloud.

"Why do you want to go there?" Inuyasha asked.

"I carry the antidote for poison with me in that yellow bag of mine when we're in the past for times such as this. But it's in my room now. If I could get to it…" Kagome's words died off, but the meaning was clear.

"But you won't be able to, the house won't let you. I mean, if the house wanted to it could have already given us the antidote like it's given all the other things we need, but it wants us to die so…" Botan stated. She was curled up in one of the armchairs while Keiko was doing the same in the one across from her.

"I won't let him die," Sango declared. "We've been through a lot together, him, Inuyasha, Kagome, and I, and we've saved each other's lives too many times to count. I won't let him die now."

"What if we could get up to your room?" Kurama commented.

"What?" Kagome and Sango said at the same time, startled.

"That's impossible. The house wouldn't let them go," Hiei said. He was almost entirely hidden in the shadows as he leaned against the wall, the fire illuminating only half of his face. It gave him an ominous look.

"The house also wanted to keep us all apart today, but it wasn't able to. Kirara guided us and we were able to join together again," Kurama said.

Everyone looked to the little youkai on the floor that was now playing with Shippo. The fox boy glanced up.

"You mean Kirara will be able to bring us to Kagome's room?" Shippo said.

"Not only her. If she can go against the house, that means we'll be able to too. The house can try to control our movements, but it can't. If Kirara can move around on her own, that means any of us can too," Kurama told the group.

"It would be tricky though because the house would try to stop any of us that went against its plan," Inuyasha stated.

"Why do you think it's trying to keep us apart in the first place? If it's going to kill us, why not just do it? It could have easily killed me and Miroku when we were merged with it, but it didn't. It kept us alive," Keiko commented.

"Maybe it's just playing with us," Yusuke said with a shrug.

"Or maybe it can't kill us itself," Kurama commented.

"What'd you mean by that?" Kuwabara asked.

"Well, maybe the house can't kill us, so it sends other things to kill us for it, like those demons it sent after each group," Kurama explained.

They thought about that for awhile. The firelight flickered over Kagome's face producing shadows, but even that could not stop anyone for seeing the thoughtful look on her face. Suddenly, almost positive of what she thought, she spoke out loud.

"I think it's hiding something," Kagome said to no one in particular, just wanting to get the idea out in the open.

"What the hell are you taking about?" Inuyasha asked when no one else responded.

"It was peaceful with us, that is, until Botan mentioned that we should begin looking for clues. That's when it's second message showed up, 'it begins'. That's when all the attacks started too," Kagome clarified.

"So you think the reason it started its attack at that particular time, was that it was afraid we might actually find out something about it?" Kuwabara asked.

"Which means it has something to hide," Sango concluded.

"Something we'd be able to find," Hiei added.

Sango, who had had her back to the fire demon, looked back at him and the two traded looks. Though the looks were not friendly, they were not mean-spirited either.

"So what are we waiting for? We should go and find whatever it's trying to hide from us," Yusuke said.

"Tomorrow," Keiko corrected him. Everyone was too exhausted from a long day to search now.

"You guys can go search tomorrow, I'll take Kirara and Miroku to go find my room so I can cure him," Kagome told them.

"I'll go too," Sango told her and Kagome smiled. "I'd like to get my weapon anyway." Sango had an irking feeling that Hiei was smiling at her last comment, though she did not turn to see if her hunch was correct.

"Me too! You're not leaving me behind again, Kagome!" Shippo told her.

"Feh, that's probably just what the house wants you to do, leave the others so it can kill you with its hordes of demons," Inuyasha told them, "I'll go with you."

"No, don't, it'll be fine," Kagome assured him.

She was not even sure why she did not want him to come along. Maybe it had to do with the fact that she wanted to be able to discuss some things alone with Sango. Maybe it was something else too, though she could not be sure.

"You don't know that. It'll probably send demons after you the moment you leave the room," Inuyasha informed Kagome.

"Would you two lovers stop bickering?" Hiei snapped.

That shut both of them up very quickly.

"Wh-what!" Inuyasha said, while he blushed slightly. A glance at Kagome, showed that she was red as well. "We're not lovers!"

While Kagome had told the girls that Inuyasha and her did not really have a romantic relationship, she had forgotten none of the other boys knew that.

"I suppose we all just assumed…" Kurama said. The news surprised him. He had been almost positive that the two had a relationship and that Kagome was already claimed by another. If that was the case…

"No, Kagome just detects the jewels for us—" Inuyasha began.

"You idiot…" Sango murmured to herself, so that only the demons in the room heard, which included Kurama.

Kagome abruptly stood up, angrily. When would he think of her as more then a jewel detector? Surprisingly enough, she did not tell Inuyasha to sit, but instead stormed out of the room, ignoring the looks from everyone else in the room. The girls understood and shook their heads while glaring at Inuyasha, while most of the guys watched in confusion.

"Kagome! Wait—" Inuyasha began.

Kagome did not hear the rest as she slammed the door behind her. Maybe going around in the demonic house alone was not the best idea, but at the moment, she did not care. She headed down the hallway, and then noticed it looked familiar. She followed it until she reached a door that lead to the large area outside. Even though it was in the center of the mansion and had walls around it on every side so there was no escape through there, it made it seem like she was in the great outdoors.

Why did Inuyasha never think of her as more than a jewel detector? Okay, so maybe that was not true, he often just told people she was just a jewel detector, but sometimes she wished that he was more than just her friend. Here she was, having a huge crush on him for so long, and all he ever thought about was the dead priestess she was the reincarnation of. Kikyo this, Kikyo that. Everything had to be about her, the dead miko who was still trying to kill him and her, for that matter. The fact that Kagome looked like her did not help the matter either.

If only he could forget about her! Kikyo did not care for Inuyasha anymore, not like Kagome did. And all Inuyasha did was constantly compare her to the priestess. For once she wished… she wished…

Kagome made her way over to the small pond, her mood not getting any lighter. She picked up a rock from the side and skipped it across the water, angrily.

She heard light footsteps behind her and whirled around, a stone in hand and ready to throw it at Inuyasha if it was him. But instead of looking into golden eyes, she found her eyes locked with green ones.

"I thought it would be better if you did not go out alone," Kurama told her. He then eyed the rock she held ready in her hand and added, "if you want, I will leave—"

She sighed, turning back around and skipping the rock across the pond water. "No, stay. I guess it was stupid of me to go out alone."

She continued to find rocks and throw them across the water, while Kurama came up next to her. Kagome skipped one rock across the water four times before another rock came and hit it, making both sink into the water.

"Hey!" she squeaked in protest as Kurama's rock sunk hers, though it lightened her mood. Just having Kurama there lightened her mood considerably. He was always so kind and polite… she felt as though it was impossible for her to get mad at him, unlike with Inuyasha.

He laughed slightly at her protest, causing her to laugh too. Kurama flicked another rock across the pond, which Kagome tried to knock down, but her aim was horrible and missed completely. He laughed again, but not in a mean way. It was more of a friendly, enjoyable manner.

Kagome gave the kitsune next to her a sidelong glance. Kurama…. He was extremely beautiful with his long red hair and emerald eyes. Somehow she managed to fall for the longhaired guys and demons no less. Why was she such a demon magnet?

The memories of that afternoon came back to her in an instant. The remembrance of his body pressed against hers and then his warm breath on the side of her face when he had murmured into her ear came back to her. How he had almost kissed her was the clearest memory and the desire that had filled his eyes…

Was it so wrong to be so attracted to him? He was courteous and always gracious toward her and from that afternoon, she thought he might even be interested in her, though it could have been a fluke. The warmness of his hand as it stroked her skin when she had burned herself… Mere memories brought on a pleasant reaction.

This was Kurama beside her, Kurama who had helped her when she was injured. Kurama, who had talked with her and joked around with her in the two weeks they had been given to get to know the strangers. Kurama, whom she helped make meals with. Kurama, who had saved her more than once.

He was not like Inuyasha, but in some ways that was a good thing. She could not see herself yelling and arguing with Kurama, or him forgetting about her every time a past love came along. She was getting a little ahead of herself though. She was not even sure how she felt about the kitsune beside her. She liked him, that was for sure, but what other strong emotions did she feel for him?

They continued to play their little game, though Kagome could hardly ever knock Kurama's rocks into the pond's depth. Finally they ran out of rocks and both stared at their reflections in the moonlight lit pond, Kagome's hands locked behind her back while Kurama's were in his pockets.

Kurama was lost in thought as he glanced at his reflection, mostly thinking about the young miko beside him. He did not notice a timid hand reach up, until he felt it touch his cool skin.

Kagome's thoughts jumped from place to place. She then remember the weapon Kurama used, his rose whip. She had seen him reach for the rose that transformed, but where had it come from? Suddenly curious about the rose, Kagome raised her hand up to the nape of his neck and her warm fingertips touched his cool skin delicately, moving slowly down lower.

He shivered at the first contact, a certain sense of pleasure overtaking him, then immediately spun around and grabbed her wrist. Though the grip did not hurt, it startled her nonetheless and it brought their bodies only inches apart.

"Sorry, I was curious about where you keep that rose you use as a weapon," Kagome explained, slightly flustered.

Kurama still did not let go of her. "You don't want to be touching me there," he told her quietly. "You might not like the effect it has on me."

Kagome blushed, understanding his words, but a small smile appeared on her face. "Found a soft spot, did I?"

He let go of her wrist but did not move away, keeping their bodies very close together. "A little unfair that you've found mine and I have not found yours," he told her softly.

His voice caressed her, making her shudder and she closed her eyes as the words washed over her. "Do you always do that?" she murmured.

"Do what?" he asked softly. His voice had become even closer, meaning that he had moved his face closer to her own.

She did not want to open her eyes to see the green eyes of the kitsune in front of her. "Enthrall people with your voice."

He laughed a little and responded, "only to the ones I'm fond of."

Before, he had hardly dared make a move since she was already claimed by another man. Now he knew that she was not. If she did not belong to Inuyasha, then maybe…

She wondered if he was ever going to make a move or if he was just trying to tease her. She hoped it was not the latter. She had been about to open her mouth to say something more, but was stopped.

His lips descended onto hers in a soft, almost chaste kiss, as though he was unsure if what he was doing was entirely desirable by her. She pushed her body closer to his in response, and that was all he needed. He deepened the kiss, one arm going around her waist while the other hand went to the back of her neck, bringing her closer to him.

His lips were soft, sweet-tasting on her own and she wanted more. Her arms wrapped around his waist bringing him as close as humanly possible. He bit her bottom lip playfully then moved his lips away, but she made a small noise of protest. She wanted him to kiss her once again and he obeyed instantly with pleasure.

She had never been kissed like this before. The sweetness of him ran through her body, consuming her. She felt lightheaded and was thankfully that Kurama was holding her so close or she might have melted into the ground. Inuyasha had never kissed here like this before.

_Inuyasha,_ she suddenly thought and she broke away from Kurama. She pushed him back while gasping for air, her heart pounding in her chest, eyes unfocused with desire. She leaned against a tree behind her for some support, avoiding Kurama's eyes as she waited for her breathing to turn to normal.

It was wrong. She might be attracted to Kurama but she did love Inuyasha, and her feeling toward Kurama were still unclear to her. Kurama seemed to feel something toward her, but she was not sure she could return any feelings yet.

"I… I think we should go back," Kagome told him, still avoiding looking him in the face.

Without any answer from him, Kagome walked away and out of the cool night's air and into the mystical house once again. The house seemed safer then being outside alone with Kurama.

* * *

They had all fallen asleep in the room, but Sango was still up, sitting by the fire while worrying about Miroku and Kagome. Kagome had rushed out of the room in a hurry and she had been about to follow her, but Kurama said he would go. It was late now and she wondered why they were not back yet. 

"I think you should stop worrying about others and start worrying about yourself," said a voice from the shadows.

She nearly jumped, but stopped herself just in time. She should have known he would still be awake.

"Why, Hiei? You want me to be like you, not caring about anyone but myself? Or is this another death threat from you?" Sango asked, not removing her gaze from the embers in front of her. The fire was beginning to die out.

"Hn," was his only response as he came out of the shadows. He stood a few feet away from her, but still near the fire. He gazed into it as well, watching as the fire slowly diminished.

"What? No insult back. You disappoint me," she said dryly.

"Because _that_ is such a horrible thing. It's not too late for me to kill you though," Hiei said causally, like he handed out death threats everyday. Though thinking about it, he probably did.

"I'll be quivering in fear any moment now," Sango responded.

She got up and added another log to the fire. There were no blankets in the room and her tank top did not provide much warmth. She needed the fire to continue if she was going to try not to freeze that night.

Hiei watched her move around the room silently, his face emotionless as usually, though he followed every move she made. The shadow half consumed her, but the fire's light still offered some refuge from the darkness.

"So Hiei, now you know why I'm not asleep… so why aren't you sleeping like the rest? Scared I'll come after you while you're unaware?" Sango asked it innocently enough as she settled back down on the floor, warming her hands by the fire.

Hiei watched the new log crackle as the flame began to eat away at it. "Hn, hardly. Are you trying to pick a fight with me?"

Sango just shrugged to his amazement and said with a small grin, "maybe. My heads not exactly that clear when functioning on no sleep."

"Your head's never clear," he corrected her.

She rolled her eyes. "You're one to talk."

"When did you get so bitter?" he asked, a sudden change of subject that surprised her.

"How do you know I'm not always like this?"

He stared at her, and she sighed and continued, "I saw my father and brother killed in front of me; my whole home village was destroyed and all the people in it, and now my brother's being controlled by my enemy, Naraku, and forced to kill. Not to mention the fact that if Naraku or Inuyasha complete their quest in collecting all the jewel shards and putting the Shikon no Tama together again, my brother will die. Again. Are those enough reasons for me to become bitter?" she told him, then added, "Although I'm just bitter around you mostly, so you should feel proud."

He ignored her last statement, more focused on what she said before that. "Why will your brother die if they fulfill their mission?" He told himself he did not care, he was only curious.

Sango did not feel like explaining, especially to a demon she did not even like, so she just said, "never mind." To change the subject, she began talking again. "Are we having a normal conversation?" Sango asked with a gasp of feigned surprise.

"Do normal conversation include threats and death?" Hiei inquired, one eyebrow raised and a microscopic smile on his face.

"Not for a human, but I suppose it's usual for demons," she replied.

"Hn."

Their semi-normal conversation was interrupted though when Kagome came into the room. Sango turned around to greet her and in that same moment Hiei was back in the shadows of the room.

Kagome seemed completely flustered, but she did greet her friend and sat down beside her. "I think I'll go to sleep now. We'll talk in the morning, okay?" Kagome told her friend while lying down on the floor.

Sango nodded in return and both girls settled down. Shippo had woken up and moved next to Kagome where the small kitsune fell back to sleep contently, while the two girls followed his example.

Kurama walked into the room sometime after to find the two girls curled up by the fire, Kagome holding the small kitsune close to her. He could tell she was sleeping from the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest. Everyone else appeared to be asleep except for one certain demon.

Hiei came back out of the shadows once again, following Kurama's gaze to the sleeping girl holding the kitsune. The girl looked so peaceful and innocent… something that being with a demon might corrupt, whether it was with Inuyasha, who was half-demon, or another.

"Your scent is all over her. It'll just be a matter of time before the hanyou notices," Hiei commented, "and decides to put two and two together."

"I suppose," the fox said.

"I don't see why you trouble yourself with the girl. It'd be easier on everyone if you just stayed away from her," he told his friend.

"It would, wouldn't it?" Kurama responded softly, never taking his eyes of Kagome.

Seeing he would get no sensible answer from his friend at the moment, Hiei faded back into the dark and finally allowed sleep to find him.

With a small smile on his lips, Kurama found a spot on the crowded floor and fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

Keiko made her way over to the window, careful not to step on any of her sleeping friends. The window had not been there when she had fallen asleep, she was certain of that. The room must have shifted somewhere else during the night since before she was almost positive that they were near the center of the house. Now, she was looking outside she saw miles of forest and in the very far distance, the city. 

During their two week stay when the two groups had gotten to know each other, they had often tried to use doors and windows to escape. However, every time they got near a window an invisible barrier would shock them and then send them flying backward. The doors had similar results, though sometimes their feet would just stop, not letting them move an inch closer. Yusuke had once tried to blast a huge whole in the wall to get out, but the wall resealed itself instantly before anyone could take a step toward the gap.

Keiko just looked at the outside world, not even trying to escape, though she missed being outside in the fresh air. How long would they stay trapped in this house? Would they ever escape or would they all die eventually from the house's tricks? No, she could not think that way. She had to believe they would find a way out. They had to find a way, and they would, she just knew it. Yusuke would not give up, of that she was certain.

Speaking of Yusuke…

"You miss the great outdoors?" he commented as he moved next to her, gazing out the window.

"Yeah," she said faintly, "what about you?"

Yusuke shrugged. "I'm more a city-fella myself, but it'd be nice getting out of this house either way. _If_ we ever get out."

"How can you think like that? We will find a way," she said confidently, then added softly, "You'll find a way."

Yusuke turned to face her and gripped her chin with his hand, making her look at him. "You really have that much faith in me?" he asked softly.

"Yes," was her whispered reply, though it held confidence.

A look of soft amazement filled his eyes and before either knew what was happening, his lips found hers in a gentle kiss. Though it was merely a brush of lips before Yusuke moved away, Keiko could feel her head spinning. She got a hold of herself quickly though, as the rest began to awake from their slumber.

* * *

Kagome stood on one side of the hallway with her companions while facing her new friends on the other side. On Kirara's back were the unconscious Miroku and Shippo, who waved to the other group. The two groups were separating for the first time since their arrival, Inuyasha and his gang going to get the cure for Miroku and Yusuke and his friends searching on for a clue about the house. 

"We'll have Kirara guide us to Kagome's room and then bring us back to wherever you are," Inuyasha told the others.

"Alright, but where the hell are we supposed to go?" Yusuke asked.

"Just go wherever the house doesn't want you to," Kagome told him.

"Is that such a smart idea?" Kuwabara asked worriedly.

"No," Kagome and Yusuke responded in unison, smiling slightly.

"Be careful," Kurama told the others, though his gaze was on Kagome.

Kagome avoided looking at him like she had done all that morning, and Sango noticed the strangeness between the two. It was extremely odd since before Kagome had spent most of her time with Kurama, talking with him nonstop.

Sango responded for her friend, "don't worry we will. The same to you, though I wouldn't mind if Hiei doesn't come back entirely whole."

"Hn," the fire demon replied.

With finally nods of acknowledgement, the two groups headed off in opposite directions.


	10. Restricted Area

**_Deadly Games _**

**Chapter Ten: Restricted Area **

* * *

Kagome walked slowly next to Kirara and Sango as she avoided eye contact with everyone around her. Her mind was lost in thought and she barely noticed anything that went on around her. Shippo, being held loosely in her arms, was the first to notice.

"What's wrong, Kagome?" Shippo asked his troubled friend.

Kagome jumped back to reality when she heard his voice. She glanced down at the worried kitsune and offered a small smile while replying, "nothing! Just thinking, I suppose."

"About what?" he asked curiously.

She was not about to burden a child fox demon with her love life problems. Just thinking the word "fox" brought her mind back to the other kitsune in her life. Just thinking of him made her blush.

Shaking her head, she tried to keep her mind off him and the kiss that they shared. His lips had been so soft and she had felt like her body would melt into his… Ah, there she went thinking about it again!

Kagome's attitude peaked Inuyasha's interest. What was going through her head that caused her to blush so much? And why did she have the fox demon's scent all over her? Inuyasha, however, never even considered the possibility of them being together and filed to put two and two together to make four. It was unsure if this was a fortunate or an unfortunate thing.

"Oh, nothing important really," Kagome responded to Shippo's question, but long after it was asked.

Sango almost felt like laughing out loud. Nothing? It was obvious she had a whole lot of something on her mind and judging from the blush on her face, she was guessing it had something to do with the other kitsune they had left a couple of hours ago. Kagome had been acted strange since she had stormed out last night and Kurama had followed her. Just what had gone on between them? Next time her and Kagome were alone, she would make sure to ask.

Sango's gaze then turned worriedly over to the monk on Kirara's back. She did not like the fact that he was still unconscious. How bad had the poison hurt him? Maybe they should have left early. If he didn't make it…

"Don't you die on me, Miroku," she murmured to him, though he could not hear her. Sango glanced at Kirara. "Are we almost there yet?"

Kirara bobbed her head slightly in a 'yes' manner while Sango sighed in relief. _Just hold on a little bit longer…_ she thought.

* * *

"Aw, come on!" Kuwabara said as he jumped out of the way of another tentacle.

Yusuke and his friends were in a hallway with what seemed like hundreds of doors and numerous amounts of tentacles shot out of random doors while trying to snatch one of the members. Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama did most of the slashing, since they moved too fast for Yusuke to get a shot at them, though he did punch a few that ventured too close.

"This grows tiresome," Kurama commented.

"Maybe doing what the house _doesn't_ want us to do wasn't the smartest plan!" Yusuke yelled as he punched another tentacle that reached for one of the three girls.

An additional tentacle shot out of the door behind Keiko, but Yukina froze it. It fell to the floor, shattering into itty-bitty pieces.

"Yeah but if we don't—" Kuwabara said, then took a moment to slice yet another tentacle off. He continued, "—then we'll never figure out anything about this house."

"How do we get it to stop making tentacles?" Keiko called to anyone who knew the answer.

"How the hell are we supposed to know?" Yusuke yelled back.

A gust of cold wind swept through the room, bringing with it a whispered voice. The voice was neither masculine nor feminine, just a voice with a message. It chilled down everyone's spine and swirled around them until it reached their ears so its message could be heard.

"Turn back," the voice hissed in all their ears.

"No THANKS!" Hiei yelled. He sliced through five tentacles as he move lightning fast across the hallway.

Ignoring the house and its message, they continued to fight.

* * *

They reached Kagome's room and she rushed inside, instantly locating her bag and digging through its contents. She found the antidote and brought it over to Miroku, whom Inuyasha and Sango had laid gently on the floor.

"I'm going to need you to swallow this," she told the monk, though she doubted he could hear her. But she was in for a slight surprise when he responded weakly, "of course."

"Miroku! How long have you been awake?" Sango asked him.

He smiled thinly and said, "around when you told me not to die, though I was hardly conscious then."

"This must be serious if he didn't think to ask for mouth to mouth," Kagome said dryly to Sango.

"That was my next question," he told them, defending his reputation.

Kagome smiled and put the container to his lips and tilted it slightly, letting the liquid fall down his throat. He grimaced as he swallowed.

"I think that drink becomes fouler tasting every time I have it," he said.

"Nah, it's just a different kind, but it's stronger," Kagome told him, "try not to do that again, because I only have one more bottle left."

"Believe me, neither of us wants it to happen again," he declared.

"Come on, we have to move! We have to get back to the others! Who knows what kind of danger they're in," Shippo told them all.

Heeding the child's advice, they got ready to go. Sango grabbed her hiraikotsu and Kagome reached across a bed for her bow and arrows. Both girls felt more confident with their weapons given back to them. They made the guys leave the room briefly as Sango changed into her demon slaying outfit, complete with poison mask and Kagome changed back to her regular clothes.

"We haven't got all day," Inuyasha said gruffly, making them move faster around the room.

They put Miroku back on Kirara and Sango got on in front of him. He was still dazed from the poison and needed something to hold on to if he was going to ride Kirara, otherwise he would have slid right off. Miroku put his arms around Sango's waist, bringing her closer then was actually needed.

She murmured heatedly, "you are so lucky you're sick."

She felt rather than saw him smile into her back where his head lay against her. Kagome along with Shippo climbed onto Inuyasha's back and both youkai set off at a run to find the other group. They had a bad feeling that they might be in trouble.

* * *

The tentacles were endless. No matter how many they chopped off, more came back, making the fight drag on. One tentacle had almost taken Botan away, but Kurama had used his rose whip quickly to slice the predator's limb off.

"I'm thinking retreating sounds like a good plan," Kuwabara said, moving away from another tentacle.

"Retreat to where, baka? The tentacles are coming from every direction," Hiei told the human.

Suddenly a large weapon that looked like a boomerang came flying into view. It sliced off every tentacle coming from the doors on one side, then took out all of the tentacles on the other on its return trip.

The team looked in amazement, having never seen Sango's weapon in use before. Glancing behind them, they saw Sango riding Kirara while Miroku clutch her to him. Inuyasha was not too far behind with Kagome holding onto him. The sight stirred something like resentment in both Kurama and Hiei, though Hiei was not sure why he felt that way.

Sango slid off Kirara and out of Miroku's reach to catch her weapon, sliding slightly backward across the floor as she did, one knee to the ground to steady herself.

"Looks like you could use our help," Sango called over to the others.

For the moment the hall was quiet, but soon the tentacle would be back with a vengeance. The groups made their way over to each other, but before any sort of greeting could be exchanged, large tentacles came out through the doors. And so the chopping and fighting began again.

"Does this thing ever die!" Inuyasha asked as he slashed his sword at the demon. Kagome was still on his back, firing arrows at limbs that got too close to Inuyasha and herself.

"Not really," Botan replied.

Realization hit Kagome. Could it be…?

"It's like that monster… I don't remember the name but every time you chop off one of its heads, two grow back, so if it starts with one, then it has two, then in you chop off those two, it has four, and so on," Kagome said.

"You think that could be happening with this demon's tentacles?" Sango asked as she continued to dodge the numerous tentacles. She hardly had time to use her weapons she was so busy avoiding getting grabbed by them.

Kagome bit her lip and called to her, "maybe."

"How do you kill it then?" Keiko asked.

"I don't know!" she yelled back.

"If we crush or paralysis the body, will the arms stop multiplying?" Kurama asked, as he looked over at Kagome on the hanyou's back, searching his own memory for a beast similar to the one she spoke about.

"I don't know, maybe!" she repeated. "How would we paralysis it then?"

"I could do it. I could freeze it," Yukina told her from where she stood behind Kuwabara, who was protecting her quite diligently.

"Feh, it's worth a try," Inuyasha said.

"Follow one of the tentacles when it retreats through the door, it should bring you right to its body," Kurama declared. "We'll keep it busy out here."

Inuyasha nodded and jumped over to the little koorime, picking her up as he passed her by. Hiei growled, not liking how he was handling his sister, while Kuwabara looked less than happy as well. A wounded tentacle began to retreat back to its body and Inuyasha made it just in time before the door slammed behind them and the tentacle.

He jumped from left to right, avoiding the millions of tentacles that swarmed around him. He could hardly see where he was going, but as long as he followed the one tentacle it would be alright.

Inuyasha found a large mass in the center of a room, which he guessed was the body of the demon. He jumped to its center and let Yukina down, who put her hand to the demon's skin, sending her icy powers into the demon's core. All of the sudden, every tentacle froze in place, even those outside the door, beginning to feel the effects of her powers. Then they all headed for the center of the demon's body, intent on killing the intruders that were harming it. They were about to be overwhelmed by them when Yukina's power took a major effect and the demon began to freeze in place. Then it stopped moving altogether and the tentacles froze in place, covered by a thin layer of ice.

Kagome's heart had been pounding, but now she sighed in relief. Both she and Yukina climbed onto Inuyasha's back, who took his Tetsusaiga and cut them a hole to exit from, breaking the jagged ice around them. He rushed to the exit, the doors beginning to fade out. He ran toward one door in particular and slammed into it head first to keep it open. He threw them into the hallway with the others, and the girls were tossed accidentally off his back.

Kagome closed her eyes, ready for impact. She slammed hard against the wall and cried out in pain before slumping to the floor. She was not sure where Inuyasha or Yukina had landed, but she did hear Yukina's cry and Inuyasha's grunt as they fell to the floor.

Somebody took her arms and helped her to her feet. She opened her eyes slowly to look into green orbs of light. On second glance, she realized they were eyes.

"Kagome, are you alright?" Kurama asked her, concern in his eyes.

"Ow, my head…" she mumbled while raising an arm back to rub her bruised head. She had not heard his question the first time so he repeated it again, and she responded, "yeah, just got another lump on the head to add to my collection. How are Inuyasha and Yukina?"

"Slightly battered, but we're okay otherwise," Yukina said, coming over.

Kagome smiled weakly at her. "Nice job in there."

Yukina smiled back and gave her a small bob of the head, as though she were bowing. "Thank you."

Her senses seemed to return to her and she abruptly realized who was still holding her. She moved away swiftly, while trying to hide a blush and made her way over to see how Miroku and Inuyasha were doing to distract her. She ignored the verbal dispute Sango and Hiei were having for her own safety. It looked as though one might take their weapon and kill the other very soon.

Miroku was back on his feet, although he leaned heavily on his staff. The antidote was beginning to take its effect. Sango broke away from her fight with the fire demon when Kagome came over to see how Miroku was and walked over with her. Just when they got there, he suddenly began to collapse. Sango hurried to catch him and he fell into her embrace.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" she said with a small sigh of defeat, knowing she had been tricked.

A devious smile appeared on his face. "Maybe."

She hit him in the back of the head while moving away, muttering, "pervert."

"Now where do we go?" Botan asked loudly, glancing around.

A huge, grand door appeared before them, very invitingly. It was mostly golden with swirling designs of many colors on it. The house was practically telling them to go through the door, which was why they could not. That would be doing what the house wanted and it would get them no where.

Another door down the hallway from them was old and half eaten away, forgotten near the glorious door. Keiko made her way over to the old door and it began to fade out. That same voice came, laughing at them in their dismay. Except this time, the voice was not undefined, it was a female voice laughing.

"Hey! Give that back!" Keiko yelled angrily.

Before she could reach it, the door vanished and she was looking at just another part of the wall. She stomped her foot in frustration, glaring daggers at the wall. With the help of Botan, they began pounding on the space where the door had been, but it was solid. Everyone watched with some dismay and alarmed at the two girls. Kuwabara finally stepped up and using his spirit sword, he hit it against the wall. He lifted it up high, prepared to hit the wall with a mighty force and brought it down fast and the sword sliced through a now paper thin wall.

"Kazuma!" Yukina called, worried.

Surprised, he almost fell through the paper wall because he had put too much power into the swing. Botan grabbed the back of his shirt at the last minute while Kuwabara's arms flailed about as he cried out.

Kagome tore away the wall where Kuwabara made a slit through. The paper came off in a rectangle shape, the shape of the door. She looked in and made a low whistle. There was no floor where it should have been and no stairs leading down. There was just a drop down two stories to the basement's cement floor.

"This door leads down to the basement," she said in a matter-of-fact tone, looking back at Kuwabara. "If you'd've fallen, you would have been killed or at least have broken many bones."

"Pity he didn't fall," Hiei said.

"Do you want to fight, half-pint?" Kuwabara asked angrily, bringing his fists up in what was supposed to be a threatening manner, but Hiei did not look worried at all. He took a swing at Hiei but he moved away in a blur of black, then reappeared at the "doorway" looking down. Kuwabara tried to punch him again, but Hiei jumped down to the basement floor easily. Kuwabara almost fell in again, but Botan was more than ready for this and Keiko too. They put their arms out and he bounced off them, moving back into the hallway until he fell to the floor.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Feh, what an idiot." He looked moved closer to the door then looked back at Kagome. "Kagome."

She nodded and moved in back of him all the while avoiding Kurama's eyes. She did not want to see what emotion he held in them as she climbed onto Inuyasha's back.

He jumped down just as easily as Hiei, landing gracefully on his feet where Kagome immediately got off to Inuyasha's own surprise. Usually she would stay on for as long as he was willing to give her a ride when her laziness got the best of her. Now that he thought of it, she had been acting strange for a while…

Kirara carried four people at a time down to the cemented floor, having to make two trips. Then they began searching again for some sort of clue, although the clue could be anything. What could a house be hiding? How did the house have a consciousness in the first place? Why the hell would it not let them leave and go home?

The basement was damp and cool, the cement floor cold against their feet. They walked through it, wary of every shadow, knowing that the house could manifest demons at any time and wondered when it would send another after them. They found stairs and climbed up four sets of them, bringing the group to the third floor. They were brought to a small, narrow hallway that only allowed two people to walk side by side in it, unlike the huge hallways that they had been in before.

Kagome, being extremely curious, walk in first and to her dismay, Kurama walked beside her, with Keiko and Sango not too far behind.

"How is your wound, Kagome?" he asked causally.

"Oh, it's alright. It was throbbing yesterday, but it doesn't hurt anymore," she told him, though it was partially a lie since it was hurting her. If she told him that though, he might offer to check and re-bandaged her wound and she was not sure if she wanted him that close yet. Although that was yet another lie. She wanted him close to her, but she did not know how appropriate that was.

"I suppose the demon was not poison then, or you would have felt its effects by now. What about your burn?"

It had seemed like so long ago that she had burned herself, but it had only been two days previous. Between all the houses tricks and dealing with her intense emotions, she had forgotten about it. She touched her shirt where the burn was and glanced down. Kurama followed her gaze.

"It never really hurt that much in the first place. I forgot about it actually," she told him.

"I suppose the lack of pain is a good thing then."

She nodded mutely, having never looked at him during the entire conversation.

He was talking just a normal and polite as ever and she was relieved. Then she felt herself sadden. Had last night only been a mistake and he wanted both of them to forget it? Or had it actually meant something to him and he did not want to put her on the spot, especially with her friends nearby?

_I'm so confused,_ she thought. She sighed audibly causing Kurama to glance over at her once again, though she did not seem to notice this time.

The corridor ended abruptly. That was it, no door or anything, just a solid wall in front of them.

Kagome put her hands on her hips, annoyed. "How are we supposed to get through?"

"Don't you mean, where do we go now?" Botan asked from somewhere behind her.

She shook her head. "There's a room beyond this wall, I can just feel it."

And that was true too. She had this tingling feeling in her stomach that went beyond the wall and into the room behind it.

"Alright, everyone get down. I'm sick and tried of this, so I'm blasting that wall open _now_ ," Yusuke told them from all the way in the back.

Everyone squatted down on the floor, the people in the front with their arms over their heads, knowing they were about to get showered with debris.

_I had to be first, didn't I?_ Kagome thought with an inward groan. However, Kurama put his arms around Kagome, blocking her from the wreckage about to come. It both surprised and pleased her as he overlapped her body with his.

"SPIRIT GUN!" They all heard Yusuke's call before there was an exploding sound and a flash of blue light. The debris went everywhere smoke rose around them for a few seconds. Everyone slowly got up to their feet, looking at the large hole in the wall in front of them.

Kurama still had his arms around her when they stood up, but neither realized it right away. While she had only gotten hit by some rubble, Kurama's clothes were covered in dust and debris. She reached a hand up instinctively and brushed a piece out of his long hair. His hair felt like silk between her fingers.

"I should think your hair is worse then mine when knots come into play," Kagome told him with a smile, forgetting herself and her embarrassment for the previous night for a few moments.

He smiled, his eyes shining as she withdrew her hand. Reality set back into place and they realized the others were waiting for them. With Kagome's face a pink color, both entered the forbidden room that the house did not want them to see.

The whole group of twelve stared disbelieving around the room they stood in. The room was a library with so many books it was truly amazing. The books were shelved on every wall and not a space was void of a book. And still beyond that there were a few piles on the floor with books just waiting to tip over. There was a twelve-foot ladder that rolled across the bookcases, making to possible to reach the highest shelf. Kagome, always liking a good book to read, could have stayed there for days looking at all the books the library had to offer.

"Wow," Botan said softly and the girls nodded in agreement.

Most of the boys were not able to appreciate the full beauty of all the books, which was quite obvious when Yusuke said, "what's so great about this?"

"What's the house got to hide in here? It'll take us an eternity just to go through all these books!" Kuwabara protested.

"You're only protesting because you probably can't even read," Hiei told the human.

"And I suppose you can," Kuwabara said, crossing him arms with a smug look on his, thinking he had won.

"Actually, yes, I can. I learned how to read your ningen books a long time ago," he stated.

"Don't argue, it's petty," Sango told them, glancing back at the two.

"Look who's talking. All you do is fight with the shrimp," Kuwabara told her.

"Kazuma," Yukina said, putting a small hand on his arm in a way to stop him. It worked instantly and he began to apologize to her.

Hiei looked angrier than ever at the human, but said no more. Sango watched with perplexity. Again she found herself wondering why he cared for the koorime so much. Had Hiei lied to her? Was he actually in love with someone? A tinge of annoyance swept through her, then left quickly when she pushed it away. It did not matter if he cared for her anyway, she told herself, because Yukina obvious cared for Kuwabara and him, her. Then Sango thought of something. Was the reason Kuwabara and Hiei had so much resentment for each other was because of Yukina? Well, it was possible.

"Come on, we don't have all day!" Botan said. "Let's start searching!"

"For what?" Yusuke asked, irritated.

"There's something in here that the house wants to keep from us, I'm sure of it. Now all we have to do is find it," Kagome informed them.

With those last words, they all spread out and started to look for something that could be remotely related to the mansion. Most knew it was hopeless from the start, but still they looked. The only ones who did not were Inuyasha and Shippo who did not read at all. They merely watched the others scurry around from the sidelines. Some books went back to over three hundred years before. They learned quickly that the language had evolved over the years so reading was only slightly difficult. Sango and Miroku could actually read the older text better, since their reading skills from five hundred years ago were closer to the older texts.

After a few hours, most gave up hope and sat or lay on the floor, defeated. Kagome could practically hear the house laughing at them as some continued to search on. Finally, only Kagome was looking and everyone decided to call it a day.

"There's nothing here!" Yusuke cried out, frustrated.

"I know there is something, I can feel it," Kagome said, shaking her head.

"Maybe the house is only tricking you. It did intensify Inuyasha's and Yusuke's feelings of hatred, remember?" Keiko told her, trying to convince her that her diligent search was useless.

She continued to shake her head, not responding, as she continued to flip the pages of the book she was holding in her lap.

Unable to convince Kagome, they gave up on her and exited one by one, heading back to their rooms. The house helped in giving them the pathway toward their bedrooms while silently mocking them.

Kurama waited for Kagome by the door after everyone else had left. Slowly Kagome got up from her seat on the floor next to the bookshelves, ignoring her stiff muscles. She began to walk toward the entrance when a book caught her eye. On top of a pile of forgotten books, was one in particular that called to her. It was a worn out book with a leather cover, though that was pretty worn out too with crinkles in it. Inscribed in the front was the word Miya. For some reason she was drawn to it and she took a step toward it, but stopped when she heard Kurama's voice.

"It's time to go, Kagome," he told her.

Sighing in a defeated way, she passed the waiting kitsune, not looking at him directly, and headed toward her bedroom.


	11. New Arrival

**_Deadly Games _**

**Chapter Eleven: New Arrival **

* * *

"Full House," Sango said as she laid her cards down on the table. She gave the others a satisfied smile. "I win again."

Kuwabara and Yusuke groaned while Hiei snorted from where he was watching from the side. The rest of the player looked less than happy. It was true no one liked to lose, but Sango won so much it was ridiculous.

Kagome, Keiko, and Kurama were the three other players and they were more gracious losers than the two other boys. The three girls had just learned how to play, but they were winning most of the hands of poker they were playing. Yusuke had grumbled something like "beginner's luck", but rather unconvincingly.

Sango grin grew as she took her winnings from the hand. Of course, they weren't playing for real money having none on hand, so they played with chips they "happened" to come by. When the house was not trying to kill them, it was actually quite helpful. It still provided them with food that was non-poison, water, beds, and so on. It was like living in a castle until, that is, the demons started coming after them. Then it was like living in hell.

It had been three days since the house had given them hell, but they watched warily, waiting for its next move. Some wondered if they would get a warning like last time, but most doubted it. Some of those three days had been spent in the library, but still they found nothing useful in it.

"Congratulations baka, you just got beaten by a girl yet again," Hiei said, directing his comment at Kuwabara.

Sango answered before Kuwabara could argue. "I don't see you playing, Hiei, so I wouldn't be criticizing others."

"Hn."

Sango began to deal out the cards for the next hand. "Is that a sign of defeat?" she asked with obvious fake sweetness.

"I don't play ningen card games," he told her.

"I still say we should've played strip poker," Yusuke grumbled.

Miroku leaned closer, apparently interested. "I like the sound of this 'striped poker'." He did not know exactly what it was, but the name sounded pleasant enough for his taste. At least it was a sign that he was better and was back to his old tricks again.

"No," Kagome, Keiko, and Sango chorused firmly. Sango, having just learned poker itself, did not know what strip poker was, but she did not like what the title implied.

Five cards were dealt to each person as the next round of poker was played. Bids were made and Sango, the dealer, gave cards out to the players who wanted them. Kagome glanced at her hand once more before asking for two cards, handing Sango her discarded ones. She smiled slightly, then put on her poker face as she was given her two cards, one being a ten which gave her three of a kind.

Most of the people folded until they reached Kagome. She grabbed three chips from in front of her. "I bet one red chip and two blues," she said as she threw them into the center of the table.

Yusuke sighed. "Too rich for my blood. I fold," he declared, throwing his cards down.

Everyone gazed at Kurama. He was the last person still in the game, save for Kagome, and he had to decide whether or not he was going to fold and let Kagome win, or keep playing, raising the pot. He glanced down at his cards then up, catching Kagome's eye.

He smiled and said, "I see your bid, and raise you a blue."

She smiled back and threw down a blue chip as well as two others, which widened the others' eyes. The ones Kagome threw down were her last ones and she did not have many other chips.

Kurama called and looked up at her. "Ladies first."

Cautiously she laid down her cards, showing her three of a kind as her eyes sparkled hopefully. She looked at Kurama anxiously, waiting to see if he beat her or not. He put his cards into one pile in his hands in one fluid motion and lay them gently on the table, face down.

"You win," he told her as he took the deck and added his cards to them, hiding the Full House he had. Kagome gave a little squeak of happiness and took her winnings while a big smile spread across her face.

It was worth it. Letting her win had been worth the pure delight that filled her face. Not that he would do it again, but the one time was just enough.

A sharp rapping came on the door and everyone turned to the main entrance door, startled. Had they really heard it, or had they been imaging it? Then the tapping came again and they knew someone was there. Who would be knocking, trying to get into the house though? Or was it just someone who had gotten lost? Well, either way it was not wise to come into the mansion to be part of the house's game.

No one moved to answer the door, most not wanting anyone else to be caught in the house's trap and the others feared that a barrier would throw them backwards anyway if they tried. The door suddenly flew upon on its own, banging against the wall next to the entrance. The sunlight that entered the room blinded the people in the room and most tried to cover their eyes with an arm or hand.

In through the door came a person, a female by the looks of it. Only the outline of the person could be made but by the curves of their body, they knew the person was female. The woman walked into the room and the door slammed behind her, but it did not faze her, unlike some of the other girls in the room. Their eyes took awhile to adjust to the darkness again and while they did, a voice came from in front of them.

"How come I wasn't invited to this party?" the woman said indifferently.

The voice sounded familiar to Yusuke and the others, but Kuwabara was the first to put his finger on it.

"Shizuru!" he said disbelievingly, looking at his older sister.

Shizuru walked down the three steps that brought her to the level the rest of them were on. The door faded out as she did.

"Hey, baby brother," she told him.

Mostly everyone was at a loss for words. The people from the past did not know who she was, while the others were just unsure of what to say. Keiko finally spoke up.

"What are you doing here, Shizuru?" she asked her, taking a step toward her friend, hesitantly. It was not just another trick of the house, was it? Shizuru was real… right?

She held up a tape lazily as though it explained everything. "Koenma sent me."

"The toddler sent you into this death trap?" Yusuke asked, feeling angry. "Do you even know what this house is capable of? _We_ don't even know what this house is capable of!"

She shrugged. "He explained some things to me and told me he had something that you needed. I told him I'd come and give it to you."

Inuyasha glared at this new human. "You're either very brave," he said, "or very stupid."

Shizuru ran a hand through her hair with a half-smile on her face. "Probably a little of both," she said nonchalantly.

"So what does Koenma have to tell us?" Kurama asked, curious about what information Koenma might provide about the mysterious house they now resided in.

Yusuke had to react quickly as Shizuru tossed the tape to him, but Yusuke always did have fast reflexes and he caught it with ease. He looked at it curiously and then at Shizuru.

She gave him a bored look. "It's not rocket science, Yusuke. Koenma explains everything on the tape, now you just have to play it."

"That's all very nice and good besides for _where the hell are we going to get a _VCR?" Yusuke declared, yelling the last part.

"This place looks modern enough, it doesn't have a television with a VCR?" she asked.

"This house can have anything it wants. It seems that it's able to manifest anything it desires, including demons and food and all else, but we have yet to figure out how or why," Kurama explained calmly. "We can only have a television if the house allows us."

"Do you think it'll give us a TV?" Botan asked no one in particular.

"I doubt it. If it tried so hard to get us away from any clues about how to get out, why would it help us now?" Miroku asked.

"Unless there are some things it wants us to figure out and other things it doesn't," Sango added.

Kagome shrugged. "There's only one way to find out."

Botan nodded. "Right then," she said, then to the house, "can we borrow a television and VCR," then added hastily, trying to be polite to the murdering house, "if it's not too much trouble."

Nothing happened for a long time, as though the mansion was thinking it over. Abruptly, a television and videocassette recorder appeared before them. Yusuke's jaw dropped in astonishment. Keiko closed his mouth for him with her hand and took the tape from him. She silently slid it into the VCR while Miroku, Sango, and Shippo watched, clearly interested in the foreign machine while Inuyasha watched it warily, as if it would jump up and bite him at any moment.

The screen fuzzed for a few seconds then an image popped up onto the screen, that of a toddler. He wore a large and strange hat on top of dark brown hair, set above the same colored eyes. In his mouth was a blue pacifier that matched most of his outfit. Even though the tape was previously recorded, he gazed at them as though he could see them at that moment like a live broadcasting.

Sango blinked at the screen. "Why is there a toddler in the box?" she asked.

Hiei sneered. "That's the television and he's not actually there. This was already recorded and is only playing now," he said as though he were talking to a small, idiotic child.

Sango glared at him. It was only a simple question and he did not have to be so irritating about it! It's not like she's ever _seen_ a television before.

The kid on the screen began to speak. He spoke each of Yusuke's groups' names in greeting and then, surprisingly, he said the others' names too.

Kagome was the first to speak. "But how did he…?"

"Koenma is Prince of the Spirit World. He has a television in his office that can show any place he wants. He's probably watching us right now," Kurama explained.

"That's… kind of creepy," Sango said and Miroku and Shippo nodded in agreement.

However, Inuyasha was hysterically laughing and had been for some time. "Your boss is a kid!" he exclaimed, continuing to laugh. "That's like me taking orders from Shippo! And if it's not bad enough for humans, you have demons working for the kid too!" He was extremely amused by the whole situation.

Before any one of the very angry people could smack him or in Hiei's case, kill him, the words, "sit boy" uttered by Kagome were heard clearly and then Inuyasha was off the couch and on the floor.

Inuyasha jumped to his feet almost instantly and glared at Kagome. "What was that for!"

Kagome gave him an are-you-an-idiot look, her arms folded over her chest.

Keiko got up and rewound the tape since they had missed some of it as they talked. They heard Koenma repeat the greetings then he continued talking.

"I apologize for sending you to the mansion without any facts, but I didn't think it was that serious. Of course, now I realize I'm wrong after seeing all the demons and other things the house has been sending after you. I have, however, found out some things that might help."

Someone cleared their throat next to Koenma and the view backed away so the oni, Jorju could be seen. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a very annoyed look on his face as he tapped his foot impatiently against the tiled floor.

Koenma glared for a moment and then said, "alright, fine! Jorju found out some information. I found out nothing. Are you happy now!" he asked the oni. Jorju nodded and the view came closer on Koenma's face once again.

"Since the strangeness of the house started after the last people lived there, I—Jorju, I mean, has found information about the last people who resided in the house. They were also the first it seems. It was longer ago than we have originally thought, closer to two centuries ago instead of one. There were seven people living in the house and after their deaths that's when the house started to have mystical vibes coming off it. That's why I believe—and I'm almost positive about this—that one of those people is the house's consciousness."

"What does he mean, that one of those people was turned into a house?" Kuwabara asked, confused.

"Something along those lines, yes," Kurama told him.

"We've seen stranger things," Inuyasha commented and the others from the past nodded in agreement.

They had to stop their conversation, however, as Koenma spoke. "There were three people of noble birth living in the house and four servants. It seems one of the nobles, a lord, it was his home that he had constructed to show off his newly found wealth."

"So we get to blame him for this lovely house we reside in," Yusuke murmured, but was shushed by Keiko and Botan.

Koenma continued to talk, describing each member of the house and as he did, a painting of the person came into view. Each picture had been hand painted by only god knows who and each one was only a head-shot.

"The lord's name was Akio, he was the owner of the house." A picture came onto the screen of an extremely handsome man in his early twenties with light brown hair and a light shade of brown eyes to match. The picture was only a head-shot so it could not be determined if he were muscular or not. "He had invited the lord, Jiro, to stay at his new home…" another picture came on the screen of an older man in his thirties with black hair and chocolate brown eyes. "…along with the Lady Miya, who was soon to be Lord Akio's wife." A third picture came on, taking the place of the second lord. The new picture was of a lovely girl in her late teens most likely, with dark brown hair and forest green eyes that sparkled with amusement. A small smile played on her lips as though she shared a secret between her and the painter. "Yuki was the only female servant in the house, though she was a known seductress, trying to get her hands on a wealthy husband." A painting of Yuki came onto the screen. Sapphire eyes gleamed mischievously and her lips were curved upward in a devious smile. Her black hair only added to her intriguing, dark features. The girl was truly beautiful, in her late teens by the look of it and she probably would have had no trouble finding that husband she wanted.

Yusuke whistled lowly in an appreciating manner as he set eyes on the beautiful girl. The girls just rolled their eyes. Yuki was one of those girls that you disliked or liked on sight and that would be that. Most girls would be jealous, mainly because of how attractive she was. If just her face got that much attention, they wondered what the boys might do if they got a full body look at the girl.

Koenma continued. "Ryu was Lord Akio's personal servant." Yet another male came onto the screen. This one had black hair with dark brown eyes that were so dark that they too looked black. The black was set against pale skin and he too had that dark beauty that the seductress had. "Yasuo acted as Miya's personal servant." Another painting came onto the screen, revealing a semi-handsome man. He was not as handsome as the lord who had owned the house or the latest dark beauty, but he was not ugly either. His baby blue eyes held intelligence and he had a kindness in them that made up the difference. "And the last was Kura, a little girl that Lord Akio allowed to stay in his home." The last was a portrait of a young girl of six or seven years. She was very cute with short blonde hair and big blue eyes. She smiled widely in the painting and was picture of pure innocence. "Well, that's all seven and that's all the information I have. If I find out any more I have no way of giving it to you. You're on your own now. Good luck!"

With that the screen fuzzed out then eventually turned off altogether as they all stared at it.

"That's it! He's just ditching us! What are we suppose to do now?" Yusuke asked.

"You're the spirit detective, key word being detective. The kid said that the house _is_ one of the seven, their consciousness or what's left of them, right? So maybe if we find out which one, it'll help us figure out how to get out of this house," Kuwabara told him, a rare moment of wisdom bestowed upon him.

"But how do we find out who? We have no clues," Yukina said.

"Not yet," Sango said, "but we might be able to find something now that we know what we're looking for. We have their names, so maybe we can find something related to them."

"It's possible, I suppose," Miroku commented.

"Yeah, and maybe Kirara can find something," Shippo said, glancing at Kirara who was curled up in Sango's lap, asleep.

"I feel like I'm missing something here," Shizuru said and the others began filling her in on what had been happening before she arrived, then the normal discussion continued.

"I got it! The house is female! When we were trying to get to that door in the basement there was a female voice laughing, so it has to be one of the two adult females," Yusuke said.

Botan frowned. "Yes, but when it told us to turn back, the voice was neither male nor female." She explained to the other group, "when you went to cure Miroku it spoke to us, but it's voice was neither one or the other."

Kuwabara added, "maybe it slipped so now we know it's female."

Miroku shook his head. "You also forget that the house's laughter was masculine when it gave us our second warning. It's only toying with us so we can't figure it out."

"Back to square one," Keiko said with a sigh, slumping down in her seat.

Kagome frowned as she thought, not really paying attention to the others. Their discussion had been going on for a long time as they debated what the house was up to, but she never said a word as the hours ticked by slowly. Something was bugging her about the names. Miya… where had she heard that name before? She frowned as something tugged at her memory but it was hidden from her.

_Come on brain, think, think!_ she thought.

She grew frustrated though, when no results came. With a defeated sigh, she slumped back against the couch she was sitting on.

"What's wrong, Kagome?" Shippo asked, peering at her. He jumped on her lap so he could look at her closer.

"What? Oh… it's nothing," she said with another sigh. She yawned suddenly and tried to cover it up with a hand, unsuccessfully.

"Maybe it's time we got some rest. We can continue discussing tomorrow," Kurama commented.

The others nodded in agreement and everyone went into their rooms, settling down for bed. By now, the girls had each taken their own room since staying together did not do much. If the house wanted them to be apart, they would be separated, it was as simple as that. They had already experienced it so they decided it was finally time to get their own rooms, like the guys already did.

Kagome walked to her cozy bed and slid under the warm covers. Her troubles were forgotten as she fell contently asleep.

* * *

She had gotten maybe two hours asleep before she had woken with a start, much like she had done last time right before she had fallen through the mirror. Kagome tossed and turned, unable to go back to sleep. Finally she sat up in her bed, sitting Indian style while rubbing her eyes tiredly.

Suddenly, a voice came into the room, a soft feminine voice. It called her name as a coldness swirled around her, causing her to shiver. She brought the blanket closer to her, but this kind of coldness was not one that could go away with a blanket. It was inside the body, inside the soul.

"Kagome," the voice whispered softly. "Kagome."

It was as though an invisible hand tugged her toward the door. Not thinking all that clearly, she stood up and began walking toward the door. Every fiber of her being screamed at her to stop, to jump back into the bed and huddle under the covers where she would be safe. It was stupid really, but the thin fleece wrapped around a person could make them feel so safe, when in reality it was no protection at all.

Her hand reached the doorknob and opened it slowly, the door squeaking slightly as it opened. She would not listen to the majority of her brain that said to stay in the room, so another part told her to go to Inuyasha or even Kurama, but she ignored those voices too as she continued to follow the woman's voice that pulled her.

"Kagome," the air whispered to her.

She walked down a flight of stairs until she was in the large room they had been playing poker in just that afternoon. Everything was completely dark in the room, no light whatsoever, but she managed not to run into anything. The voice pulled at her until she stood in front of the TV and then the voice disappeared and the coldness left her.

As the frostiness escaped her, so did the void of emotion that she had been feeling. Now she felt scared. Very scared. She was about to make a run for the stairs and go to her nice, warm bed, but the television turning on stopped her where she stood.

The television turned itself on with a ping noise and the blue screen was on for moments, causing a portion of the room to be illuminated. A click was heard as the tape also turned itself on and the gentle hum of the machine was heard. Though instead of seeing Koenma and hearing him talk as she should have, one of the paintings showed up on the screen.

The picture of Miya suddenly appeared in front of her and right before Kagome's surprised eyes, it became real. The perfectly painted colors became genuine and instead of a painting inside the television screen it looked like an actual person, as though she were watching a movie. She lifted a hand up a touched the screen timidly then yanked her hand back as if it had burned.

What happened next though, caused Kagome to step back in fright. The picture of Miya turned her way, looking right at her into her eyes, boring down into Kagome's soul. The picture had come to life and words did not describe how entirely spine chilling that was.

Miya blinked from inside the screen and said in the same feminine voice that had led her here, "Help me, Kagome."

Kagome took several steps away from the screen in fright and whirled to head for the stairs. Instead, she came face to face with Miya, who was suddenly standing in front of her, blocking her way. Kagome bit her lip to keep for screaming. Why did she not scream? If she screamed someone might come and help her and make the girl in front of her go away, but for some reason she could not.

Kagome looked into those eyes that had sparkled so much with amusement in the painting, yet now were so dull. She wore a long green dress that matched her forest green eyes and the Lady Miya whispered to her, "help me."

Then in the blink of the eye she was gone and the television screen was off, leaving Kagome in the darkness again. Was she dreaming? Please God let this be a dream. The frightening feeling she had was too much. She wanted to wake up so badly, but somehow she knew it was very much real.

A clicking sound came from distance and a record player turned on, playing an eerie song that skipped and took on an ominous tune. What was usually a sweet, love song was warped into something evil when it was played. The words skipping and crackling only added to its sinister seemliness. Chills ran down Kagome's spine as she looked for the source of the music, but saw none.

All the way to one side of the room the moonlight circled around one girl, who she recognized again as Miya. She wore a different outfit now and stood on a balcony that had not been there before, which was especially odd since they had been on the first floor before.

Miya stood with her back to Kagome, staring out into the night's sky, her skin glistening in the moonlight. Her hair and her white, silk nightgown were blown to the side as she continued to stare. She was the vision of loveliness, but she did not seem to notice anything around her.

Her hands gripped the railing painfully tight and she shook involuntarily. For a few moments, she slid down to the ground, but then Miya forced herself to get back up.

Kagome watched as Miya moved her face to the side, giving Kagome her profile. That's when Kagome realized she was crying; that why she was shaking. She was sobbing quietly.

Something caught Kagome's eye and she looked over to the other side of the room to see another man, one of the servants… Yasuo, she remembered. He watched Miya cry with a deep sadness in his eyes and a longing to go over and comfort her, but he did not move his feet.

Miya turned around and her eyes and Yasuo's met. Green clashed with blue and Kagome watched as Yasuo was by Miya side in a second. What surprised her even further was the second he reached her he swept her up in his arms and kissed her passionately, which Miya gladly returned as the tears began to dry.

The two broke the kiss and Miya held him closely, hugging him as though her life depended on it. Yasuo embraced her tightly as well, never wanting to let go of her again.

Yasuo began to let go of her, but Miya held on tightly. Kagome saw Miya begin to cry again and she was surprised to see tears in Yasuo's eyes as well. He drew back from his love slightly, his forehead leaning against hers as he spoke soft words to her. Miya tears came quicker now and more came as he continued to speak.

She nodded her head slightly and sobbed twice before quieting herself. Yasuo lifted up a hand and gently brushed the tears away. Then abruptly he embraced her again, kissing the side of her face, anywhere his lips could reach while still telling her soft words in between kisses. Choked laughter, half between sadness and happiness, came from Miya as she buried her face in Yasuo shirt for only moments. Then the two let each others' arms slip away and moved away from each other.

The two glanced at each other, each glowing through the moonlight with their sadness and happiness intertwined. Suddenly both turned to face Kagome, finally acknowledging her presence. What she saw made her face pale and she stumbled backward.

The two beautiful lovers had look lovingly at one another just moment before, but when they turned to Kagome, they were rotting corpses. The flesh was decayed, barely holding onto decomposing bones and some fell to the floor as they gazed at Kagome. Their full heads of hair now held only a few disgusting strands clinging to the top of their scalps. The clothes were still the same silky fabric they had been before, but on the dead it made the scene even worse to watch.

"K-kag-go-me…" Miya slurred out of a mouth with few teeth and a decaying tongue.

Kagome stared in complete and utter horror, stumbling backward. The sight was horrendous and fear and terror swelled up inside her like never before. Then finally the scream that had been building up inside her before was let loose and she was screaming at the top of her lungs, though she was not sure how it would help.

She reeled around and ran right into the person behind her. The moonlit balcony had disappeared and she stood in the dark room with someone in front of her. The person put a hand on her arm in what was supposed to be a comforting way, but at the moment it only scared her more. She jerked out of their reach and began backing up again. But the hand came again and gripped her arm lightly. She swatted at it, trying to make whatever creature that was holding her get off.

"Get off me! _Get off_!" Kagome yelled.

"Kagome, it's me. What's wrong?" said a male voice in front of her.

Wait, she knew that voice. She stopped screaming abruptly and said hesitantly, "K—Kurama?"

Before he even had time to answer, Kagome threw herself into his arms, hugging him as she began to cry. She sobbed as she pressed her face into his chest. She was not even sure why she was crying. All she knew was that she wanted to be held and comforted and she knew Kurama would do that for her.

He was surprised at first and stiffened at her touch, but very quickly relaxed. He made circle motions on her back with his hand to comfort her. It worked slowly and she stopped sobbing, but continued to cry into his shirt.

"What happened?" he asked her softly, murmuring the words into her ear.

She removed her head from his chest and looked up at him. Her eyes were red from crying, but to him she still looked as beautiful as always.

"You didn't see, did you? The two…?" she whispered, then hugged him close again.

"Sh… It'll be alright," Kurama said, speaking soft nonsense words of comfort.

Would it really be alright? Would they ever be able to leave? Only time would tell.

* * *

Author's Note:

If anyone was curious. Names and meanings as I found:

Lord (owner of house): **Akio** (Bright Boy)  
Lady (lord's guest): **Miya** (Sacred House)  
Female servant (seductress): **Yuki** (Snow or Lucky)  
First male servant(Lady's servant): **Yasuo **(Peaceful One)  
Second male servant (Lord's servant): **Ryu** (Dragon)  
Second lord (lord's guest): **Jiro** (The Second Male)  
Little girl: **Kura** (Treasure House)


	12. Mysterious Journals

**_Deadly Games _**

**Chapter Twelve: Mysterious Journals**

* * *

Kagome woke up very slowly in her bed. Her bed? How did she get there? She remembered everything that happened last night with the Lady Miya… then they were corpses and someone was there… Kurama, she recalled, but after that it was a little fuzzy.

She rolled her head to the side and found herself staring at Kurama from only inches away. He was sitting in an armchair that he had brought up next to her bed with his arms folded on her bed and his head lying gently on top of them. His eyes still closed as he slept peacefully. Kagome felt a twinge of guilt, knowing that the position he was in probably was not all that comfortable.

More memories of last night came into her head. She had been crying into his chest and he had soothed her as he led her up to her room. She had crawled onto her bed and he had gently laid the covers over her. The tears still fell silently, but they had slowed considerably and most of the fright had left once he held her. Kurama had been about to leave, but she had held onto his arm and asked him to stay. Kagome blushed at the mere memory. He did not argue and brought the chair up to beside her bed, watching her through concerned eyes until she finally fell asleep.

Obviously, he had stayed throughout the night and now continued to sleep, partially on her bed. One of Kagome's arms was brought up under her, cradling her head as she turned on her side to face Kurama. Some of Kurama's long red hair was spread out in front of him and it lay on Kagome's arm, the silky hair tickling her. She brought a timid hand up and ran her fingers through soft strands, pushing it away from his face. When her fingers came near his face she gently brushed the back of her fingers against the smooth skin of his cheek. That's when his emerald green eyes slowly blinked open and he smiled kindly at her.

Kagome brought her hand back quickly, her face turning a dark shade of red as she wondered just how long he had been awake. She prayed he would not mention what she had just done and did not act on it, while at the same time wishing that he would.

However, he only brought his head up off the bed and leaned back into the chair so that he was in a more comfortable position. If he was stiff from spending hours half-hunched over, he did not show it.

"Are you feeling better now?" he asked her.

She nodded her head while she sat up in the bed, leaning against the wall the bed was up against.

"Yeah," she said that added quietly, "thank you."

"What happened?"

She shook her head, her face tilted downward and her bangs covering her eyes. Kagome spoke, her voice hardly a whisper. "Didn't you see them? Or hear the music?"

Kurama looked at her, bewildered. "Who? And what music? Kagome, what happened? I only heard someone leave and since I was still up, I followed. I found you standing in the middle of the room alone."

"I—something lured me downstairs, well not something… someone," she said, though this part puzzled her. Did it mean Miya was the house? Or was her spirit still trapped inside after she died? All seven people had lived and died in the house, never to be seen again. Did that mean all their spirits were trapped, including whichever of them was the house itself?

"Someone?" he asked, curious.

"Yes, but… I think I'd rather tell everyone at once. I don't want to have to repeat it again," she told him, shuddering at the thought of having to describe, even once, the rotting dead that she had seen.

He nodded and got up, heading for the door so that she could get changed. Kagome abruptly got up before he left and grabbed him, embracing him tightly.

"Thank you," she whispered again as the tears threatened to come back.

He squeezed her once tightly, but then let go, leaving her alone to get dressed.

* * *

"Woah, now that's creepy," Yusuke said after hearing what Kagome said. She nodded mutely.

They had gathered in the common room, most of them sitting on some piece of furniture as they had listened to what Kagome had experienced last night. The television had disappeared during the night, taking the tape that Shizuru had brought with it and bringing it somewhere unknown. All they knew was that they were definitely not getting it back.

"So the Lady Miya was supposed to marry the lord of the house, but she had a secret lover," Botan said.

"Yes, well as fascinating as _that_ is, what has that got to do with anything?" Hiei stated.

"Well if it was shown to her the house either wanted to show it to her, or it was something Kagome wasn't supposed to see, but she saw it anyway," Keiko chipped in. "Either way, it could be a clue."

Kagome was still puzzled about one thing. Was last night the work of the house or something else? She asked the others, but no one seemed able to answer it.

"Why would the house want you to see two lovers?" Shizuru asked Kagome, but she could only shrug.

"But why would Miya, if it was the spirit of her, want her to see a rotting corpse? If she was trying to give Kagome a message, becoming a zombie wasn't the way to do it," Yusuke commented.

"Maybe it was both," Miroku said. Everyone turned to him bewildered, so he continued, "maybe Miya was trying to give you a message but the house interfered."

"In what way did the house interfere? How could it have done that?" Kurama asked.

"Is it possible the house distracted the spirit by making her relive a moment of her past? Or make her think she was alive again to distract her?" Botan asked.

"You can't forget the chance that the house could be Miya itself," Kuwabara mentioned.

"It's possible the lord could have found out about the romance and punished Lady Miya by turning her into the house, or sealing her spirit into it," Yukina commented.

"Yes, let's not kill people we get angry at, let's turn them into houses!" Yusuke said with fake cheeriness.

"It's still a possibility," Sango said, glancing at Kagome.

"Why is everyone looking at me? I don't know! I don't even know why she chose me!" Kagome exclaimed.

There was silence for a few minutes until Kurama broke the silence. "Maybe she feels a connection with you," Kurama said quietly.

What did he mean? But then it hit Kagome and she bit her lip, hard. Miya had a secret lover when she was supposed to be in love with the lord. Just what exactly was Kurama suggesting? Did he think he knew her so well already that he knew what she felt? She herself could not map out her emotions.

No one else understood the meaning behind his words, but seemed to agree that the noble woman must have felt a connection with Kagome. That must have been the reason she called to her.

Discussion went on for sometime and debate also, mostly Inuyasha and Yusuke fighting. They were both too headstrong to back down even when what they were saying made no sense. Kagome however was not paying much attention. Like the day before she had that nagging feeling as though she was forgetting something. Finally it came to her, right in the middle of when Shizuru was commenting on something.

"I got it!" Kagome exclaimed and then she was out of the room in seconds, without taking a look back at the confused people behind her.

Everyone else exchanged odd looks as though thinking the girl had gone insane. Sango got up though and followed the rushing girl right away. The rest followed reluctantly.

"What have you got, Kagome?" she could hear Shippo ask behind her, but she was not really paying attention.

How could she not have remembered? That book she had seen in the library! The one she had seen just as her and Kurama were leaving that first day. Inscribed on the front had been the name "Miya", but she had not remember until just then. She had only seen it the first day and since then it had only been a fleeting thought. The next day she had forgotten, but when Koenma had said Lady Miya, something had jogged in her memory.

They had gone back to the library the days after the first day they found it, so she knew the way. The house had let them find a normal route to it because after their first failure as it did not think they would find anything else. Now the person whose consciousness was the mansion did not know where she was going, so it would not block the way.

Kagome climbed the stairs to the library and went down the hallway until she was inside it. Immediately she began searching the piles on the floor, remembering the book had not been on the shelves.

"What are you looking for?" Keiko asked as she watched Kagome run from pile to pile. "If you tell us what it is we'll be able to help you."

"Hn," Hiei said, "you won't be able to find anything useful in this place."

"It's got to be around here somewhere…" Kagome muttered under her breath.

She stopped looking for a moment and closed her eyes, calming herself down. _Where are you…?_ she thought. _Miya, if you're somewhere helping me, guide me to the book._

Like four days previous, she felt something calling to her. Her skin itched to go find whatever it was and take it and this time, she let it happen. Her body was led to the stack, and after taking a few books off that they had gotten piled on top, she found the journal.

"Here!" she said, happily.

Then the journal began to shake and it was thrown out of her hands and onto the floor, where it was being dragged toward the door. Kagome knew it was the house doing it this time, though she was beginning to wonder if the house was Miya and she did not want them to find the book. It would explain why she had asked for help. It was possible Miya wanted help so she was not a mystical house anymore. At the same time the house could be any of the other seven, since they did not know anything about the others as of yet.

The journal slid across the floor trying to get to the exit while Kagome tried to go after it. Every time she grabbed for it however, it would dodge away. Soon some of the others were helping too, but no one could catch the damn book.

"Get that book!" Kagome yelled.

Hiei rolled his eyes and in a flash, he went from one side of the room to the other and Kagome lost sight of the book. Then she looked up at Hiei and saw he held it in one of his hands lazily.

"Show off," Sango mumbled, annoyed.

Abruptly, the book disappeared from Hiei's hand and from the room all together, vanishing into thin air. Kagome sat down on the floor hard. Damn it, the house had taken something they needed away from them again!

Kagome then got back on her feet, refusing to give up. She went over to Kirara and knelt in front of her.

"Can you find that book, Kirara?" Kagome asked the youkai.

Kirara tilted her head and Kagome was not sure if she was considering it or trying to find out where the book was all-together, or possibly both. Kagome was betting on the latter. Finally, Kirara turned around and scampered out of the room, dragging the thirteen people along behind her.

* * *

They stopped in a hallway on the second floor that none of them had ever seen before. Kirara stood looking from one side of the hallway to another, but did not go any further into the hallway.

"I guess it's our job from here," Botan commented.

There were six doors on each side, spread far apart. Each room was probably very big, though every other room was a little smaller. Kurama explained this was because the smaller one would go to the personal servant, so if a lord or lady needed anything during the night, they had someone to call who was nearby. Inside the room there was also a connecting door that connected the two rooms, noble to servant. Usually the personal servants were the same gender as the noble person, but not always.

"So this hallway was where Miya's bedroom was? And the other lords?" Kagome asked.

"It was probably where everyone's bedroom was," Miroku answered, "since there were only servants and three nobles in the house when they died, each noble probably had one of the servants next to them. The little girl probably stayed with one of the others also."

Kagome nodded and Keiko said, "well, let's search."

Everyone paired up so that there were six groups of two, with the exception of Kagome and Sango's group since Shippo and Kirara tagged along. The group of four searched the first noble room on the right, walking in slowly and cautiously, just in case the house had a few tricks up its sleeve.

They searched the room for any sign of the book. The room itself would have been quite lovely if it was not for the fact that there was a thick layer of dust over everything. It seemed as though the room had not been entered in about two centuries, them being the first to be in it since the last seven people who lived in the house were actually living.

Yusuke had told Kagome that other people had come to live in the house from time to time, either by accident, like after getting stuck in the woods and they wandered into the house, or real estate agency who sent people to look at the house, but they had never been seen again. Even those people who had come had never been in the room Kagome was standing in now. It was odd being somewhere no one had entered in many decades and it sent a shiver down Kagome's spine. Somehow she knew that this was Miya's bedroom.

Sure enough, on the dresser there lay some very expensive jewelry, most likely gifts from Akio, and a beautiful comb for Lady Miya's hair. More expensive things were on the dresser also and then next to all that, there sat the book. It lay neatly on the table, a thin layer of dust on it as well, as though the book had been there the entire time and had never been in the library, which was extremely odd.

"I found it," she told Sango, quietly, feeling the need to be quiet, as though respecting the bedroom's last user. Sango stuck her head out the door to call the others into the room, shouting that Kagome had found it. Obviously, Sango did not feel the same way as Kagome.

The door that connected the room they were in to the servant's room opened, startling both Sango and Kagome as Kurama and Hiei walked in. In Kurama's hand he also had a book, although it was smaller and some of the pages were hardly still attached. The book was also made of cheaper material, which explained why the book Kagome had was in better condition.

Everyone was piling into the room then, the girls sitting on the floor and most of the guy just standing around, while Kagome, Sango, Shippo, and Kirara were sitting on the bed. Kurama had pulled out a chair and was sitting on it, and Hiei was leaning against one of the walls with his arms crossed and his face turned to look out the window toward the balcony outside. A balcony…? Could that scene between Miya and the servant actually have taken place? Minus the whole, becoming-a-zombie-thing, of course.

"So why were we looking for this book?" Kuwabara asked.

Kagome frowned slightly. "I'm not sure exactly why, but it has Miya's name inscribed on the front, so that has to mean something, right?" He shrugged and Kagome looked over at Kurama. "What did you find?"

"It seems to be the servant's diary, the one that was Miya's lover, Yasuo," Kurama explained.

"Don't call it a diary, it sounds so unmanly," Yusuke muttered.

"His journal then," Kurama said and Yusuke nodded, satisfied that the dead man's dignity had returned to him. Keiko shook her head sadly, thinking, _this is the man I'm attracted to?_

Kagome had been flipping through the book as they talked and said, "hey, this is a journal too, Miya's journal."

The entire book was written perfectly, not a letter out of place, everything flawless and neat. Each new entry was dated so that everything could be kept track of easily. She began to flip through the beginning, reading random parts to herself. Suddenly, the pages began flipping themselves, as though a gust of wind had blown them, but there was no wind in the room. It abruptly stopped on one date.

"Where did it stop?" Yukina asked, curiously.

"April 15th," Kagome read out loud. "Miya wrote, 'Today is my first day at Lord Akio's house and I have to say I'm a tad bit nervous. We were always childhood friends, but I have not seen him for a long time. Now he has invited me to stay in the new house he just had constructed deep in the forest and I have to say I was intrigued by the curious location he chose. I have a sneaking suspicion that he has asked me here to be his wife, but I have no problem with that. My family, although we don't normal get along, has run short on money and if I marry a rich lord then I'd be able to repay my family for all they have done for me. I never actually expected to marry for love, although it would have been nice, but Lord Akio is kind enough and I'd rather marry someone I like and have respect for then some strange wealthy lord I happen to meet one day. If I happen to marry someone I actually like, well then I have more fortune than most girls.'" Kagome looked up from the journal. "At least the girl is optimistic."

Kurama flipped through the book he had, trying to see if Yasuo had written an entry on the fifteenth of April. He found the page and began reading from his entry. "'I was doing my morning chores as usual when I met an angel. One of fair skin and eyes as green as any forest's leaves, rich with their color when in their prime. Brown hair that would have matched that healthy tree's bark. Her eyes sparkled with secret amusement set above a perfect nose with a full set of red lips below that. If this was heaven, I wouldn't mind being dead. A fleeting thought that had passed through my mind. So this was the Lady Miya whom I would be serving until Akio hired more servants. How hard my life will be for the next few weeks.'"

"How very touching," Hiei said sarcastically. Like he actually needed to know about all these human emotions. It was a waste of time to him.

"What has this got to do with anything?" Kuwabara asked, perplexed.

"The pages turned to that date, there has to be something," Sango said. "Does it go on?"

Kagome responded, "yes," and Kurama nodded.

"You two keep reading since you found the journals, or the journals found you," Shizuru commented.

"Okay then, well let's see… ah, here it is," Kagome stated, finding where she left off, "she continues, 'I arrived at the house and already I could feel the butterflies in my stomach. The house was so grand. My old one was nothing compared to the one that towered before me now. I walked inside, carrying my own bags since I came on my own, and my amazement continued. What must it be like to live in this house all the time? Of course, I knew it was under construction and that's why he had told me in the letter that there were few servants and only one other guest, but I found it hard to image what it would be like when there were a lot of guests.

"'I continued to look around in amazement when I heard a soft, polite voice behind. "Are you lost, miss?" the man had said. I turned around slowly to meet the eyes of the person who had just spoken to me. The man had jet black hair with baby blue eyes that held kindness and intelligence, making him instantly attractive. He would never be handsome, but he had his own sort of charm about him that made me like him instantly.'"

Kagome began to blush as she read, thinking about Kurama as she read how Miya described Yasuo. The only difference was Kurama was extremely beautiful, but their personalities sounded like they could be similar.

Seeing Kagome's discomfort, Kurama continued on instead. "'I first saw the angel as she gazed around in wonder, but she looked out of place so I asked her if she was lost. That was when I got the first glimpse of her face and she got her first sight of me. I was surprised at how long she stared. The other ladies that I had met had often just turned away and made me carry their bags or ask me to perform some task for them, but Lady Miya only stared at me curiously.'"

"Yawn, boring," Yusuke said, "why don't we skip around a bit."

"It's romantic!" Keiko argued.

"That's why he doesn't like it," Shizuru told her.

Kagome ignored them all while intrigued by the story. She was about to read more out loud when the journal in her lap began to tremble and then the room did as well. She touched the page so that she could hold on to her place, but suddenly her hand went through the paper, just like it had done with the mirror. That was the last thing she remembered before darkness engulfed her.


	13. The Past

**_Deadly Games _**

**Chapter Thirteen: The Past**

* * *

Kagome was standing up straight looking at the house in front of her with soft wonderment in her eyes. She was looking at the mansion from outside… but how did she get outside? There was something different about the house too and she soon realized it did not have all those vines as it had when Inuyasha and the rest of her friends had arrived. What was happening?

She was walking inside, but she did not remember telling her feet to move. In each hand she held a suitcase, packed full of her clothing. She frowned at that last statement. That was not her thought. She knew those were not her clothes because she did not bring any with her. Something seemed oddly familiar about all this though….

Then it hit her. Miya. This was the scene from Miya's journal, which meant she was in Miya's body, doing everything she had done. To test out her theory, Kagome concentrated very hard on lifting up her arm, but it would not move. Now she was sure of it. Kagome was reliving the day of Miya's life. Since she could not to do anything about it, she decided to play along, hoping that it would end soon.

Kagome eased her mind and joined with Miya's, so that she could feel her emotions and hear everything she was thinking. She was Miya now, as Miya was on the day she first came to the haunted house. Only back then, it had been ordinary.

Miya walked into the main room, her shoes clicking sharply against the stone floor. She raised her head up to look at the whole room. It was exquisite! She could most certainly live here forever. And she had a feeling she might if she accepted Akio's proposal, which she expected to do.

"Are you lost, miss?" said a polite, male voice behind her.

She turned around so she could answer, but stopped when she saw the speaker. He had a boyish charm to him that made her take a liking to him immediately. He looked fairly intelligent as he gazed at her. Was he the other lord staying at the castle?

But, no, she could tell just by his clothes that he was only a servant. It was a pity too because if he had been a wealthy lord, then she could have got to know him better. She would at least try to fall in love with a wealthy lord, but if that did not work, she would marry Akio and try to love him.

What Miya failed to notice—probably because he was not there in the house two hundred years ago—was that for a brief moment Kurama's appearance had flashed over Yasuo's. Kagome felt started; that meant that Kurama must too be in the same predicament Kagome was in. Just like Kagome was stuck in Miya's body, Kurama was in Yasuo's at the moment.

Realizing that she way staring, Miya blushed and responded, "oh, no, I'm not lost. Or maybe I am, I'm not really sure…I've never been here before…"

Miya could have smacked herself on the head right there. Why was she babbling like an idiot? He must have thought her as very slow indeed!

The servant however only smiled kindly, trying not to make her feel any worse than she already was feeling. She was grateful for that and she smiled back slightly.

"You must be Lady Miya," he said to her, "here, let me take your bags."

He reached for them, but Miya did something that surprised him. She moved the bags out of his reach and said, "it's alright, I can carry them on my own."

Trying very hard not to offend her, Yasuo replied, "I'm sure you could, my lady, but if Lord Akio sees you carrying around your own bags while I am nearby, I will be the one that is punished."

"Oh, I see," Miya said, uncomfortable and flustered by her own stupid mistake. She already knew the unsaid rules between lords and servants, but seemed to have forgotten them. She had always been close to her servant before she had looked for another employer, regretfully. "Well then I suppose you may take them."

He bowed slightly and said, "Thank you, my lady."

"I should be the one thanking you. Do you have a name?" she asked him, curiously.

It caught him off-guard. No one had ever asked him his name before. "Yasuo, if it pleases my lady."

She curtsied slightly to him, which again surprised him. She was not like any Lady he had met before. "Thank you, Yasuo."

Kagome and Miya laughed inwardly as they saw the shocked look on Yasuo. Not in a mocking way, but in a kind way. He looked adorable when he looked so confused. Kagome got another flash of Kurama over Yasuo and saw he was smiling at her, and she smiled back, mouthing the word hi, though she was not sure if he could see her at the moment or not.

Just then more people came into the hall. The first two were a woman and man, arguing as they walked though in a semi-friendly way, both wearing the garb of a servant. They stopped when they saw the noble woman in the hallway, and the pale man left, probably to get the lord of the house.

Not soon after Lord Akio entered the room along with another lord and the male servant came back in too, standing next to the beautiful woman.

"Lady Miya, it is so good to see you again," Lord Akio said, as he came closer.

Miya grinned and said, "yes, the last time we met you were ten and I was six, I believe, and you were chasing me around the clearing with spiders in your hands."

That got a small smirk from the servants, since they were not allowed to out right laugh at their lord. The other lord had no such problem and laughed heartily.

Lord Akio smiled slightly. "Yes, since then I've learned that that is not proper behavior for a lord to have. It's been that long though? Ten years?" Miya nodded and Akio said, "I would love to catch up on old times now, but I have not got the time. Let me quickly introduce you. These are all the members of the house at the moment, minus one little girl, though I don't know where she ran off to." Akio gestured to the lord to his right. "This is Lord Jiro. Lord Jiro, Lady Miya."

Jiro had black hair with chocolate brown eyes. He smiled at her, raising one of her petite hands and laid a gentle kiss on it. "I have heard much about you, Lady Miya."

"Nothing shameful, I hope," Miya said with a smile.

Akio gestured to each servant as he named them. "That is Yuki," the breath-taking woman curtsied and then nodded in acknowledgement to her. "And Ryu, who is my personal servant." The mysterious pale skinned servant bowed. "And that is Yasuo." Yasuo bowed once again to her.

Standing next to the handsome Akio and the equally handsome Ryu though in a darker sense, Yasuo did not stand a chance when it came to looks. However, there was still something about him that stood out that went beyond mere appearances.

Lord Akio turned to face her again, this time with a certain level of concern in his eyes. "I hope it is alright with you, but before you arrived Yuki was serving as Lord Jiro's personal servant and with Ryu is my own, the only other servant in the house at the moment is Yasuo. Is that alright with you, Lady Miya? As soon as more servants are hired this error will be correct and you will be given a female servant, but for now will this due? I could always have Yuki serve as your servant instead and have Yasuo tend to Lord Jiro."

Miya glanced first at Yasuo and then Yuki. She had no problem with it either way so it did not matter to her really. Her eyes then met with Yuki's sapphire ones and it was as if a secret message was sent from one woman to the other. Miya smiled inwardly. So Yuki had designs set for Lord Jiro. Who was she to get in the way of that when she had the same type of thing planned for Akio? Plus she did like Yasuo; he interested her.

Miya gave Yuki a smile that said she understood and turned to Lord Akio. "The current arrangements are fine, Lord Akio."

He smiled. "Then everything is settled. I'll show you to your room quickly."

"Oh, you really don't have to—" she began but he only told her that he insisted so Miya said no more.

They walked up a flight of stairs and went down a few hallways while Yasuo followed quietly behind, still carrying Miya's bags for her. She felt guilty about that, even though it was his job.

"The servants sleep in that hallway, down here," Akio told her, pointing down a hallway as he gave her a tour. "Yasuo and Yuki sleep down there."

Miya frowned. "But isn't that impractical? Each of the nobles' room has a servant's one connecting. Isn't it just easier to have them live there?"

"Yes, but the fact that we have personal servants of the opposite sex, excluding me of course, it is a bit scandalous to have them so close by. If anyone else found out, there would be talk and it would ruin anyone's reputation. Do you understand now?"

Miya nodded. "I understand after you so beautiful explained it, Lord Akio."

He laughed. "You were always so good with words, Lady Miya. Perhaps one day you can teach me how to be as pervasive as you were when we were younger."

Miya smiled at him. Really, he was very sweet and she would not mind marrying him. It was better to marry someone she knew and liked, rather than some wealthy stranger. "Perhaps, Lord Akio."

A worried look came on his face and he turned to her. "I've just remembered something important I have to attend to. Will you be alright on your own?"

"Of course and I have Yasuo to guide me. You shouldn't worry yourself over me," she told him.

He took her hand and brought it up to her lips, placing a gentle kiss on her hand. "Thank you for being so understanding. I will have to make it up to you."

Miya watched him leave and thinking about how desperate her family was, she whispered, "you will."

She needed his wealth to support her family. Really, she did not mind spending the rest of her life living with him. Really. Then how come she could not even convince herself in her thoughts?

Kagome felt pity toward Miya. At least in her time now, it was possible to marry anyone if you really wanted it and worked at it. And Kagome knew what was going to come in her future. Miya was going to fall in love with Yasuo. It was so unfair for them! Just because they were of different status, they should still be able to be together!

Yasuo led her to her room quietly and opened the door, letting her in first and then following with her luggage. He set them down neatly by the bed and turned toward Miya.

"If you need anything, Lord Akio showed you where I am. You only need to ask and I will get it for you, my lady," he said, and bowed, turning to leave.

"Wait, Yasuo," she said, she held out a hand and was about to touch his shoulder to get him to stop, but decided against it. Nobles were not supposed to perform actions such as those toward a servant.

"Yes, my lady?" he asked curiously.

"You… you don't have to call me that. I mean, when we're around others I know you have to act like a normal servant, but when… if we're ever alone you may just call me Miya."

He eyed her oddly, his baby blues calculating her. She was definitely different than most woman he had met, and that goes beyond noble woman. "Yes, Miya," he said with a bow.

She stopped him mid-bow, giggling slightly. "You don't have bow either," she told him, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Just forget the formality and act normal."

She did not like it when people were so stiff and formal around her all the time. She had enough of that with all the lords and ladies she met and she wanted at least some normal people to talk to once and a while.

"Normal?" he asked, perplexed. Oh yes, she was _definitely_ different than other woman.

She nodded with a grin. "Do we have a deal, Yasuo?"

She stuck out her hand for a handshake and he looked at it warily then finally accepted it with a small laugh.

"As you wish… Miya."

* * *

Kagome felt a sharp pain and was torn from Miya and her past. She was thrown back into her own time and out of the journal. She fell in a heap on the floor, landing on top of something soft. She opened her eyes to find herself on top of Kurama.

"Well I had fun, what about you?" Kagome asked dryly and to her surprise, Kurama laughed.

"I could see you at points and you looked less than happy," he told her as she climbed off him and they both sat on the floor.

She shrugged. "Well, I actually got used to it," she told him then added, "after a while."

"Kagome! You're alright!" Shippo said as he flung himself into Kagome's arms.

"What the hell happened?" Yusuke yelled. "You two just disappeared!"

Kurama and Kagome finally became aware of their surroundings again. They were sitting in the middle of the floor, the journals having been thrown to either side of the room, and amazingly enough, both were still intact. Everyone surrounded them, just staring, wondering what had happened.

"Kagome, what happened? Are you okay?" Inuyasha commented. He helped Kagome as she stood up while Kurama got up on his own. The miko winced as she got up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. They could have separated us from the bodies nicer though," Kagome commented as the throbbing in her head began to diminish.

"What happened?" Yukina asked, curiously.

Kagome glanced at Kurama, who returned her gaze. "You can tell them. I'm just gonna go rest on the bed," she told him, as Inuyasha helped her walk over to the bed, although she really did not need help. She laid down on it next to Sango and Shippo, who sat down next to her.

Kurama explained what happened to the rest, describing how they became part of the person, could feel what they were feeling and had to do whatever they had done in the past. They had become one with the other person. He then described what had happened during their time in the past and who they had met.

"So did either one feel evil?" Yusuke asked. When Keiko gave him a look, he said, "what? It's a good question."

Kagome frowned to herself as she tried to remember. "I didn't feel any evilness, but maybe that just not what she was feeling at the moment. She could turn evil at any time."

Kurama nodded. "Yasuo did not feel evil either."

"So what was the point?" Keiko asked. "Why did you need to know where they met?"

"Maybe this is only the beginning," Sango commented.

"What do you mean, slayer?" Hiei asked, using his nickname for her, though always in a mocking way.

"We still have a lot more to learn about the seven people who lived here and we know nothing of that little girl. Maybe this journal is just the first step," she thought out loud.

Kagome reached over to grab the journal that had landed near the bed. Just when her fingertips brushed against it, it disappeared as did Yasuo's journal. Kagome groaned at flopped back down on the bed.

"I'm not going after that thing again," she told the rest. "We probably won't be able to get it back the second time anyway."

"At least we now know that there was something useful in what you two saw," Miroku declared. "If the house took it away, you probably saw something it did not want you to see."

"So the house could be Miya or Yasuo, not wanting anyone to see their past," Botan said.

"Or it could be someone who did not like their relationship, like Lord Akio, if he ever found out," Shizuru commented.

"It could still be anyone," Yukina commented, "and we won't make any progress in getting ourselves out of here until we know who."

The throbbing in Kagome's head had lessened slightly, but was still there. She stood up and told the rest, "I'm a little wiped from the experience of body-switching… possessing… joining, whatever it was exactly, so I think I'll head to my room now."

They nodded and most said a goodbye, while Kurama got up and followed her out, saying, he too wanted to get some sleep. They walked side by side to their room in a partially awkward silence. What they experienced in another person's body had been weird. Whatever Miya felt, so did Kagome, and Kagome could hear Miya's thoughts too. She had been attracted to Yasuo so in those minutes that Kagome was Miya, so had she. Kagome found herself wondering what Kurama was feeling as he was stuck in Yasuo's body.

They reached their bedrooms and Kagome went to hers. She said some kind of goodbye, but it was soft and slightly grumbled. She was facing away from him as she said it, one hand reaching for the doorknob to her room. She suddenly felt a hand on her chin, Kurama's hand. She had not even known he had followed her to her room instead of going to his own. He turned her head toward him and tilted her head upward. Before she knew what was happening or had time to protest, his lips descended onto hers in a passionate kiss.

She was up against the door of her room in a second, his hands sliding down from where he had tangled them in her hair down to her hips, grazing down her figure as they moved. She kissed back, not really thinking of what she was doing, but was consumed in the heat of the moment and the longing in his kiss. She felt his tongue on her lips, asking for entrance, but that brought her back to herself and she jumped backward, pushing herself closer to the door she was up against.

He leaned his forehead against hers, his eyes closed as he took ragged breaths, but he did not try to kiss her again. When he finally opened his eyes again, his startling emerald eyes so close to her own, her pulse sped up.

His lips only inches from her, he murmured, "I'm sorry. Yasuo and I have wanted to do that for the longest time." His eyes closed again as he took one long, shaky breath.

"Yasuo?" Kagome asked, the one word coming out soft and breathy.

"When you—you and Miya were merged… he wanted her so badly," he told her, then getting bolder, adding, "just like I want—"

"Don't," she told him, whispering. "Don't say it."

She did not want to hear the words or know his feelings. No, she wanted to forget, to run away from him and the emotion that sped up her pulse every time he was near and turned those green eyes to look at her. She didn't want to know. She didn't.

While she spoke her words, her hand behind her back searched for the doorknob. She could not move around him, he had her cornered, but she was against the door so if she opened it… then she could escape. Escape his words and his desire… _her_ desire.

His long eyelashes quivered and slowly his eyes opened once more and it was as though she could feel those perfect, dark lashes against her skin, brushing against her cheek, as they opened. She knew in that moment she had to get away soon or she would be the one all over him.

"Not speaking of it does not make it any less true," he told her, his voice louder, back to normal now as he picked up his head so his forehead was no longer leaning on hers.

"I don't want to hear it," she told him, her voice still a whisper.

There! Her hand had found the doorknob. She turned it slowly, trying not to alert him. If he knew what she was doing, he would stop her with a hand and any touch from him right now might make her throw herself into his embrace. Even if she did not, he would still have a hold on her and would not let her go until he said what he wanted to say, what she desperately did not want to hear and yet at the same time she did.

She wanted someone to care for her that she cared for back. Inuyasha would never give that to her, but here Kurama was, about to spill his heart out to her and she was hastily trying to get away. Why? Why was she running? Because she did not know what else to do. Everything was just so… so… muddled.

One of his hands came up to her cheek, his fingertips gently playing over the skin and down her neck until she shuddered, unable to stop herself. She felt herself leaning in, closing her eyes, until she realized what it was she was doing and she yanked back again, her eyes shooting open.

"Why? Why not?" he asked.

He might have gone on, but she quickly opened the door and slammed it behind her, right in his face. She leaned against the door for a second, closing her eyes. Kagome could still feel him behind the door and was quietly relieved when his presence moved on.

She collapsed on her bed, her heart racing. She was only glad that he had not come in after her and glad he had taken the hint, the whole slamming-the-door-in-his-face hint. Crude, but effective.

Kagome might have drifted off to sleep right then, but then she heard the door open. Her eyes shot open and she was ready to dart across the room, but when she looked up she saw that it was only Sango. Though Sango stood leaning on the closed door with a frown on her face and an accusing glance at Kagome.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, missy," Sango told her in a motherly way, then the serious face fell away and her eyes sparkled in amusement. "Okay, I want some details. What is there between you and Kurama?"

What did she know? Had she seen them just moments ago? "I don't know what you mean," Kagome said cautiously.

Sango took off her hiraikotsu and leaned it against the wall as she came over and sat on her edge of her bed giving her a do-you-think-I'm-stupid? look. "Don't give me that. It's obvious the way you are around each other. Little bit of nervousness, that sparkle you get in your eyes, and the longing way he looks at you when he thinks no one is looking. Those are just some things. Should I go on?"

"Please, don't," Kagome told her, averting her eyes and looked out the window instead. The windows were teases the house gave them, really. Here look at the wonderful trees and grass and in the distant the city, but ha! You can't go there!

"Plus, there is the fact that I caught part of that little show you two had outside," Sango told her. "Really, what would have happened if Inuyasha came by?"

Kagome winced at the thought of Inuyasha. She knew Sango was playing around with her, teasing her, but at the moment she did not want to be teased. Everything was just so… confusing.

Sango finally seemed to get the fact that Kagome was not enjoying the conversation by the shadowed expression on Kagome's face. "Hey, what's wrong? You're my friend, you can tell me when something's bothering you."

"I… I don't understand. Everything, all my feelings, are so muddled in my head," Kagome told her.

"What, you don't like Kurama?"

"I do, but I don't know exactly…. I love Inuyasha! And then all the sudden there's Kurama… and then he's kissing me…" Kagome trailed off, her cheeks becoming red.

"Was Kurama forcing himself on you? I never thought of him the type for that…. I mean, he's so polite and sweet…" Sano said doubtfully.

Kagome shook her head, telling her friend no, but she continued to shake her head as she thought and spoke, her long black hair whipping around and hitting her face. "No, no, he'd never do that… out there, it wasn't exactly him…. It was like left over lust from Yasuo piled on top of what he feels toward me…"

Suddenly very serious, Sango asked, "do you love him, Kagome?"

"I—I don't know," Kagome told her, turning her head to meet her friend's eyes with her own misty ones. "How can I love someone else when I love Inuyasha? It doesn't make sense! I don't want to feel any of this. I don't even want to love Inuyasha at times either… he's broken my heart so many times…. I don't want it broken anymore! Giving my heart to someone else… that would only make it worse."

"Kagome," Sango said with a sigh, moving closer on the bed, "no one ever said you have to have one love in your life. This isn't a fairy tale where it's love at first sight or when you have only one true love your entire life. This is reality. You love, you get hurt, but you'll love again. Love is not always pretty, but it's something you have to deal with. You have to love just like you have to hate. You have to love and hate to live. Otherwise, you've never lived."

Kagome hugged her friend and whispered a thank you, before letting go. Sango nodded and gave her a squeeze before letting go. Kagome wiped the tears that had formed away and both girls stood up with half smiles on their faces.

From the shadows in the room, a black blob formed, growing bigger and bigger with every second. Sango noticed it first and her eyes widened. Kagome turned around to see what had happened to make her friend's expression change and grabbed her bow and arrows to shoot it. The arrow flew at it and right into its center, but the blob just diffused around it, the arrow not stopping it for long. The blob flew at Kagome, engulfing her, then fell back to the floor, Kagome gone.

"Not again!" Sango yelled as she began running from room, thinking, _The damn house is trying to separate us again!_

Just as she left the room she realized she did not have her weapon, but she could not go back in now; it would probably do nothing to the blob anyway. Why did she always have her weapon except when she needed it?

She flew into the hallway just as Kurama's door was flung open. He met her in the middle of the hallway and she began quickly explaining what happened, when the blob suddenly launched itself at both of them, taking both of them to the same darkness that it had taken Kagome.


	14. Separated Again

**_Deadly Games _**

**Chapter Fourteen: Separated Again**

* * *

_Stupid blob,_ thought Kagome grumpily as she walked beside the fire demon. She knew he would rather be moving faster, but she could not move lightning fast so he would just have to deal with it. She was so not in a good mood after getting swallowed by a giant black blob made out of shadows that seemed to be able to transport people all over the house. The only good thing about it was that she had her bow and arrows with her, but with nothing to use them on, she was rather agitated.

The others in the group had still been in the room discussing things, even after Sango, Kagome, and Kurama had left, when the shadowy blob had taken over the entire room, swallowing up everyone and transporting them to random places in the house.

It seemed like the house again wanted to separate the large group and pair them up. Kagome had gotten stuck with Hiei, though she supposed that was better than Kurama. Being alone with him again so soon did not sound like such a good idea. It was not that she did not trust him. No, if she told him to stop, he would, but she did not trust herself. She doubted she would have told him to stop if he tried anything again. Nah, that was not true. She would tell him to stop, but every time she would let him go a little farther which was not good… right?

"Hiei," she said in a small voice, causing the small fire demon to look over at her. She felt nervous around him for some reason. He had a very intimating presence, even if he was shorter than her. "Do you think you can find the others? Using your Jagan, I mean."

It let out that small, indifferent noise that he liked so much.

"Is that a yes?"

"I've tried before, when we were separated. It didn't work because the house jumps everyone's position, having people in the basement one second and then on the third floor the next. It also did the same to me. I can't keep track of anyone long enough to actually get to them."

"Can you try?" Kagome asked. "Please?"

She did not like being alone with him. It was just… scary. If Sango were there she would have argued and yelled, but Kagome could not do that. She did wish Sango was there though. Even if they did fight, the mood was lighter. As long as Kagome was not alone with Hiei she was alright, but otherwise…

Hiei looked at the girl for a second, just wanting to refuse to see her face fall, but decided against it. The miko would tell the slayer and then he would end up with an all-out argument on his hands. As appealing as that sounded, he did not much feel like going through all that, so he reached a hand up to take off the bandana. The third eye opened and Kagome watched fascinated and a bit disturbed at the same time, having never seen it before.

The eye glowed for a moment, then Hiei opened his other eyes, while tying the bandana back on. Once done, he pointed. "Kurama and the slayer are close. They're in that direction, though I don't know for how long."

Kagome nodded and thanked him, though he ignored her as they headed off.

* * *

"Don't even try it," Shizuru said, not even bothering to look behind her at the lecherous monk. 

"Try what?" Miroku said innocently. Too innocently.

"I've heard plenty of stories about you already. Don't you dare."

She continued to walk on and he followed, dropping the hand that was lifted to touch her rear. As he dropped his hand, he said to her, "you're good," with a respectful smile.

Shizuru rolled her eyes, though she smiled slightly as they kept an eye open for anything to come, either friend or foe.

* * *

Keiko walked next to Yusuke, keeping an eye out for anything that might be dangerous. She was not a good judge of that sort of thing however, which made her search pointless, but it was better than doing nothing in the silence. Yusuke was not talking, which was actually odd for him. Was he, dare she assume it, thinking? 

"Yusuke?" she said, concern in her voice. She did not like how he was silent for too long. Too much thinking might hurt him.

The frown that was plastered on his face switched to a blank look as Keiko called his name. "What?" he asked. She had been talking, but he had not heard what she had said.

"I said—never mind, it doesn't matter. What are you thinking so hard about?" she asked, curious.

"Wondering if we'll ever get out of here," he confessed, though it was a partial truth, but he was not about to tell he what else he had been thinking about.

"Didn't we have this discussion awhile ago? You'll get us out of here, I'm sure of it."

He smiled at her words, thinking of the conversation and the kiss after it, but then frowned when he spoke. "I don't know how we'll get out though. This house outsmarts us at every turn. It can hear what we say to each other any time it wants probably so it knows what we're planning. How can we beat something that knows our every move? How can we beat an entire house? We can't hurt it, and when we've smashed walls before, it just makes them again."

"I'm sure you could find a way. Eventually you will," Keiko told him, then added, "and if you don't, you're officially the worst spirit detective ever."

He knew she was joking, but it annoyed him anyway. "Hey, I did some pretty damn good things before, I'll do it again. I'll get us out of here."

She smiled cunningly. "I knew you'd see it my way."

He glared at her. "That's unfair, you know."

"What's unfair?"

"Outsmarting me like that."

"But it's so pleasurable," she teased, but his reaction was not what she expected. Instead of insulting her back, a slow smile crept on his face.

Oh, great. Why did she use that word? She would have to be more careful with what she said near him. He always took everything the wrong way.

He arched a brow at her. "You know what else is pleasurable?" he asked with sly smile. He tugged the end of her skirt and she jumped back, away from him.

"Yusuke!" she cried, startled.

He waited for the slap that always came after he performed actions such as those, but none came. He looked over at Keiko warily and found that she was instead blushing. He blinked slowly in confusion. Keiko blushing? That had never happened! She always got angry and slapped him, and that was the end of it. Unless something had changed….

A hand grabbing her upper arm stopped her as she walked, and she turned in perplexity to Yusuke. His face held a serious expression, which she had not expected, unlike his usual teasing smile and sparkling eyes.

She was about to open her mouth to say something when his lips were on hers, pulling her into a warm kiss. Her arms went instinctive around his neck as he deepened the kiss. It was not like before when he had merely brushed his lips against hers, no, this kiss was deep, sending warm vibes throughout her body as she melted into him.

Keiko broke away from him suddenly and he made a sound of protest as his brown eyes opened slightly, blurry with desire.

"Yusuke, what—" but she was cut off when he kissed her again.

He continued to kiss only stopping for a fraction of a second to say one word.

"Don't," he whispered to her huskily, sending shiver done her spine.

She made no other sound of protest, so Yusuke took that as a good sign and continued to relish her mouth. Her hands were in his hair, mussing it so it no longer was gelled back. He pulled her closer as his tongue entered her mouth, making a moan escape her.

Voices could be heard from somewhere around them, Inuyasha and Botan's voices, as they bickered back and forth. Their arguments were in a friendly teasing sort of way, unlike those of Sango and Hiei, which were in a near life threatening. Hiei and Sango really seemed to hate each other from the first moment they laid eyes on each other. Contrary to love at first sight, the two had hate at first sight. Or so it seemed to the rest.

Yusuke growled softly, annoyed at the interruption, but move away from Keiko just as Inuyasha and Botan came into sight. They stopped their teasing when they saw the other two, and Botan rushed over to them.

"Hello there!" Botan said cheerfully when she reached the two teenagers.

"Hi," said Keiko, flushed and her lips kiss-swollen.

Botan peered at both of them curiously while Inuyasha asked Yusuke, "what happened to you? Looks like you've been having a hard time." Inuyasha glanced up at Yusuke's hair once again, then down to his face.

Yusuke smoothed down his hair that was sticking up at all angles and lied casually, "there was a demon."

"A _big_ demon," Keiko added.

"Yeah, but it doesn't matter, it's dead now," Yusuke fibbed to the others.

Botan still looked from one to the other curiously, but said nothing more as the four moved on together into another room.

* * *

"You're dumber than Inuyasha!" Shippo cried out. "We're supposed to go that way!" 

Shippo pointed left, but Kuwabara crossed his arms, stubbornly. He jerked a thumb into his chest.

"_I'm_ the one who can sense the supernatural here and it's saying to go this way!" Kuwabara argued, pointing right.

"Maybe we shouldn't fight…" Yukina said, but sadly, she was ignored.

Kuwabara suddenly grabbed her arm and dragged her to the right where there was a narrow hallway. Shippo and Kirara shared a look, but followed reluctantly, not wanting to be left on their own again, especially just after they had found the other two. Kirara had been able to find the way before, but for some reason now she could not. While before the house had forgotten to, overlooking the sometimes-small cat youkai, now it was blocking her senses somehow.

They walked down the long, narrow hallway, only able to go one at a time, and continued to walk for an extensive amount of time. The hallway was very dim, but suddenly there was a bright light at the end of it, a sign that they were heading toward some type of room and could get out of the hallway.

They walked into the room and the entrance from the hallway to the room sealed up, not letting them go back the way they came. They all jumped and watched the house as it sealed the doorway, then from behind, a demon's roar was heard.

Kuwabara was the first to turn around slowly and was the first to speak after he saw the large demon in front of him.

"Whoops."

* * *

Yusuke tried sending another spirit gun blast at the demon but, just like before, it saw the attack coming and dodged out of the way. He swore colorfully, earning him a look of approval from Inuyasha, which made Yusuke half-smile as both returned to fighting against the new demon that had appeared before them. The Spirit Detective and hanyou might not like each other, but there were moments they understood what the other was going through, such as in this fight. 

The demon was proving to be quite annoying. It stayed close to the wall, mainly because it fused into the wall every time a blast came that it could not get away from. Then it would come out of the complete opposite direction from another wall, fazing back into the room, as it tried to kill the two girls that stood on the sidelines, Botan and Keiko, which, of course, Inuyasha and Yusuke would not let it do.

So the fight dragged on, Inuyasha and Yusuke not able to harm it, and the demon getting good swipes at them with its massive claws that were becoming harder and harder to dodge.

They had been taking out good chunks of the house between Yusuke's spirit blasts and Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga, but the house mended itself easily, while the demon just showed up somewhere else in the large ballroom.

It merged with the wall once again after letting out a large roar, just missing Inuyasha's Kaze no Kizu by inches, while Yusuke turned to Inuyasha saying, "we have to circle this thing so it can't get back to safety. Mainly, the walls."

"Feh, kinda hard to do when there's only two of us," Inuyasha commented.

The girls looked around anxiously, waiting for the demon to resurface. "Can you kill it now, please? This demon is creepy," Botan said, which earned her an angry look for Inuyasha. If she thought it was so easy, why didn't she try killing the demon herself!

The demon was about eight feet tall as it stood on all fours—they could not imagine how tall it would be if it stood on two legs—with green fur and three eyes on its forehead, forming a small triangle. It looked a lot like a bear, except its fangs and claws were large and much more dangerous. It seemed to have human intelligence, although it did not speak to them as of yet, if it could at all. Its long claws and fangs were not the only danger. The demon could produce an energy blast out its mouth, a green colored blast much like Yusuke's own spirit techniques, except its range was bigger then his spirit gun and the shot was more powerful.

Inuyasha's ears prickled as he heard a familiar voice say "whoops" behind him. He turned around to see Kuwabara and Kirara, in her larger form, come up, while Yukina and Shippo went to join the two girls.

Before Inuyasha could insult the baka instead of greeting him, the demon surprised them yet again, dropping from the ceiling, leaving no time for greetings—or insults—as the fighting proceeded. Kuwabara took out his spirit sword and charged, while Kirara roared a challenge to the demon.

So it continued, them trying to outsmart the bear-like youkai into letting them form a circle around it and stop it from fleeing to the walls, but with little success.

* * *

Sango and Kurama sat on the floor of the corridor next to each other, talking to pass the time. They had both decided they had walked enough and would rather the others find them. Kurama had the suspicion they were walking in circles anyway, so they had might as well sit down and rest their tired feet. 

"You were quick to rush out of your room," Sango said to him as their conversation continued. She glanced at Kurama as she said it. "And neither of us even screamed."

"I merely heard your exclamation and came to see what had happened," Kurama answered, unfazed.

"Yes, but I thought you were going to sleep. You were up for an awfully long time for someone who seemed so exhausted. You must have been in your room for over ten minutes since you arrived back and after I came back to speak to Kagome. Why was it you were still awake?" She questioned. Of course, she knew he had been with Kagome for a while, but _he_ did not know that.

She was toying with him, seeing what answers he was willing to share. In truth, she wanted to see what his feelings for Kagome were and make sure he was not playing with her. Though Kurama did not seem to type to do so, always being the gentleman, but Sango was still being the typical friend and therefore had to question the boy.

"I guess I was not as tired as I thought," he said, though his answer was hesitant.

"And what sort of things had you done that would make you so awake," Sango pondered out loud, causing Kurama to glance over at her, though she was looking straight ahead with a feigned thoughtful look on her face.

Kurama sighed. "Are we going to dance around the subject all day or do you have a direct question you wanted to ask me? You obviously know something," he said.

Sango gave him a crooked smile. "I'm not very good at subtlety, am I?" The crooked smile he gave her in return made her laugh a little. "I didn't think so. Well you could say I caught the last part of that performance." The smile left his face and turned into an expressionless one, meaning he was trying to mask his emotions. "And being the friend I am, you could say I'm curious to what's going on."

"Just how much did you see?"

"Enough," Sango told him. "Just what do you want from her?"

"You mean my feelings?" He sighed, then glanced away from Sango. "I'd rather her be the first to know."

Sango's eyes widened in shock and she said, "you mean…? You already care for her that much? You're in —" but she left it off there when Kurama turned to look at her and the unguarded, vulnerable look in his eyes shocked her once again and this time she had to look away. Muttering, Sango said, "Inuyasha's not going to be happy…." Kurama's features darkened at the mention of the hanyou's name, but he said nothing, leaving it at that.

"I suppose not," Kurama said, his voice void of emotion.

"How could you care so much already? It's impossible," Sango murmured to herself rather than to him.

"It's not, obviously, because that is how I feel."

"You're just making your lives a lot more complicated," she declared with a sigh.

Kurama silently agreed, but said no more, as he sensed two very familiar energies coming toward him. His senses were correct for Kagome and Hiei came into view not too long after. When they came closer, Hiei approached Sango, as Kagome stayed slightly back, going closer to Sango then she was to Kurama.

"Lying down on the job, I see," Hiei sneered to Sango.

"This isn't a job, it's more like… a death-trap vacation," Sango responded, standing up. "Therefore I don't have to do anything if I don't want to."

"I beg to differ," he responded, taking a threatening step forward, bringing them closer.

"Hiei? Begging? There's something I never thought I'd see," Sango mocked as the fire demon growled.

Kurama stood with a sigh, rubbing his forehead with one hand as though he had a migraine. "Children," Kurama said warningly as Kagome stifled a giggle, making Kurama glance at her with a small smile, but she quickly turned away. One, she could not look into his face without blushing, and two, she was still very confused about what was going on in her head, and three… no, that just about covered it.

"I hear someone nearby," Hiei said suddenly, as the four took off in the other direction.

* * *

Shizuru and Miroku had been talking for some time as they walked, mainly about their pasts. They were now on the subject of Miroku's past and more specifically, his wind tunnel. 

"…but if you cut off your hand, you won't be consumed by it," Shizuru stated.

"Yes, I suppose if I got desperate enough I could cut off my own right hand, but I'd rather live and die honoring my family, even if it is a curse. It was how my father died before me, and if I cannot kill Naraku, it'll be how I die," Miroku explained.

"He also doesn't want to lose his good groping hand," said a female voice from behind.

"That too," Miroku said with a wide smile as he turned to see Sango, hands on her hips.

"Still in one piece I see," Miroku commented, looking her up and down slowly, his gaze heated and very intimate. He had still failed to notice the others who had come with her with him being _very_ intent on Sango.

"Don't look at me that way!" Sango snapped, a faint blush coming onto her cheeks.

"In what way?" Miroku asked with feigned innocence as he raised one eyebrow.

"Just stop."

"But why, dear Sango?" he asked, pouting and tilting his head in a very cute, very annoying way.

"It makes me _uncomfortable_," she said.

"Sango? Admitting weakness? Shocking!" he mocked playfully, dropping the innocent act as he began to stalk forward toward her. No doubt he was about to do something worthy of a hard slap.

Sango looked a little uneasy without her hiraikotsu and no other weapon to hold him off and chiefly to knock him unconscious with as he advanced. Her arms were limp at her sides as he stalked over and she took a hesitant step back at the heated look in his dark eyes.

Suddenly Hiei's sword was at Miroku's throat and the entire room seemed to freeze. Miroku and Sango had been oblivious to everyone around them and the rest had just watched the interaction. That is, until Hiei moved suddenly from Kurama's side to in front of the lecherous monk in the blink of an eye. Though the same question was on everyone's mind, even Hiei's. Why had he reacted so? The two had just been arguing and flirting like usually but now… was Hiei helping Sango?

Sango looked at Hiei, but his eyes were fixated on Miroku, who held the demon's eyes calmly. Hiei's sword pierced deeper into his skin, not enough to bleed, but enough to be extremely discomforting.

"Settle down, lover-boy. Let's just get on with this without getting sidetracked," Hiei told him.

Sango blushed deeply at his words, while Hiei replaced his sword in its proper place. Miroku rubbed his neck where the blade had been with a curious expression on his face, but nodded.

All of the spectators let go of a breath they did not even know they were holding. They had been confused before, but his words explained it. It was not him being protective of the slayer who he claimed to hate, or even jealous of her and the monk, it was just his impatience with the two.

Of course, no one else but him knew his words were a cover. He did not know why he acted like he did. The action had been an instinct when the monk's perverted nature showed itself. Sometimes actions just spoke louder than words…

There was silence between the group, since it was unsure what could be said. Then the sound of fighting reached their ears and after a look was exchanged they all ran to where the noise was coming from.

* * *

Yusuke swore again as one of the youkai's long claws grazed his arm. He hissed out in pain, pulling back slightly. He let the demon escape the circle they had almost completed around him and the demon ran straight into the wall, merging with it. 

"You idiot!" Inuyasha yelled at Yusuke for letting the demon escaped.

Yusuke only had time to glare at Inuyasha. Before he could make an insulting comment, the demon came up through the floor, running straight toward the girls and Shippo at full speed.

"Oh no you don't!" Inuyasha yelled, jumping in front of the girls, Tetsusaiga swinging toward the demon threateningly.

The bear youkai suddenly changed directions quickly going after Kuwabara instead. Kuwabara stood with his sword ready, though he seemed a bit nervous about the demon coming at him so fast.

A black blur came into vision and slashed deeply into the green bear youkai's side, causing him to stop running and turn around to find the source of his injury. Hiei came again, sword slashing, but the bear hit him away with the back of his paw, sending his flying through the air—

—and right on top of Sango, who cursed quiet colorfully as he hit her at full impact.

Kurama used his rose whip to slash at the demon, but it was extremely fast and began dodging out of the way. As Kurama kept him distracted, Kagome strung one of her arrows on her bow and fired. It grazed the youkai back leg, but otherwise missed.

She wound up firing four more arrows but the youkai would not stand still long enough for her to her a good shot. Meanwhile, Kurama had only managed to hit the youkai a few times and even those wounds were not that deep because of the thickness of the youkai's fur.

Finally, the demon turned tail and ran straight into the wall. Kagome expected him to hit it and bounce back into the room, but the bear demon fazed into it. They stayed on guard for another ten minutes, but it soon became apparent the demon was not coming back just of yet.

"Stupid demon," Inuyasha growled.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Hiei commented to Inuyasha, while Inuyasha growled at him.

"Is he gone for good?" Yukina asked as the girls came over.

"He'll be back," Kurama declared, "after he's mended his wounds."

"Yeah," Yusuke grumbled, "when he's all nice and recovered. Coward!"

Keiko sighed. "There's nothing we can do about it, Yusuke. Let's just call it a day."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he mumbled then walked away, intent on moping in his bedroom while Keiko followed, intent treating his wounds.


	15. Possessed

**_Deadly Games _**

**Chapter Fifteen: Possessed **

* * *

"Here," Kurama said. "I found some."

Kagome looked over to Kurama to see that indeed he held an arrow in his hand, showing it to her. She had been running out of arrows after using a lot a few days previous. Kurama suggested looking for some sort of weapon room since they usually had them in the houses in times before.

She had said she would go alone, but Kurama had insisted he should go with her. Nervous about being alone with Kurama, she had asked Sango if she wanted to come too, since she was a demon slayer she might be interested in the weapons. Sango had indeed looked curious, but declined with a certain glint in her eyes. Kagome had scowled at her friend, knowing she just wanted the two to be alone. She would definitely make Sango pay for it later.

Everyone was still on guard, waiting to see if or when the youkai was going to come back, fully healed and ready to attack. If they stayed together they would probably have no trouble beating it, though Kagome doubted that would happen. The house would probably split them up again first, and then let the youkai come back out. Still, it was nerve-racking to know that the demon could just faze through the bedroom wall or really any wall, ceiling, or floor in the entire house and attack them. The youkai had seemed more intent on attacking the girls then the guys, which did not help Kagome's nerves.

Kagome walked over to where Kurama was carefully, since there was hardly any light in the room. She looked to see over a hundred arrows made and put to the side. She gathered as many as would fit in her case, taking the ones that were sharpest and least worn by age.

By mistake, an arrow dropped and clattered to the floor, causing her to crouch down to retrieve it, but Kurama did at the same time, getting to it first. He handed it to her and she looked up to see his face only inches from hers in the dim light.

"Thanks," she told him with a small, nervous smile. Her voice came out breathy.

"My pleasure," he responded, though he did not move away.

He stayed where he was in front of her, half-kneeling, his face inches from her own and his head only slightly higher than her own. His body practically overlapped hers, sending a wave of heat to her body.

Her gaze fell from his eyes to his lips, remembering how soft and sweet-tasting they had been. The memory of it sent bearings of warmth through her and she closed her eyes, bringing her lips up to his in a chaste kiss. He did not respond, too surprised to do so and the kiss was a brief one, merely a brush of lips.

Kagome drew her head back, opening her eyes slowly to look up at Kurama, whose eyes still held a soft wonderment at her sudden boldness. He cupped one of Kagome's cheeks in his hand and began kissing her again, gently. He began to stand up and brought her up with him, Kagome being hungry for more.

The kiss turned more urgent, the pure innocence of it gone and instead filled with desire and passion. The arrows were forgotten on the floor as Kagome wrapped her hands around Kurama's neck, playing with the small hairs on the nape of his neck. He groaned and pressed her to him, while his tongue parted her lips and this time, she let him in without pulling away.

His searing, hot warmth filled her as his tongue explored her mouth, making her the one to moan in pleasure. The sound of her own voice moaning brought her back to reality, just like something always did. She just let him get a little farther each time. If it went on too long….

She could not let that happen. She would not let herself fall in love again. But was it already too late? She told herself no, but there were parts of herself that did not believe it to be true.

She opened her eyes and drew back from him, whispering a soft no. Kurama let go of her reluctantly, while breathing her name.

But Kagome was already out the door, leaving her things behind, as Kurama followed. He called her name again, though she chose to ignore him. She walked quickly through the hallways and turned this way and that, not sure where she was going, but found that her body was taking her to the common room where the rest were.

A sudden green light came and surrounded her momentarily, soaking into her body as Kagome gasped out loud as the chilliness of the light hit her. Her eyes became unfocused, but her body turned around to see Kurama, who also had a light surrounding him, a blue light, but it was gone in an instance.

Kagome spun around and began running the other way, as her body led her to the common room and another conscience took over her own, as Kurama gave hot pursuit.

* * *

Hiei looked around, annoyed. Yukina and Kuwabara had been gone for a long time now. If Kuwabara even laid one dirty finger on his sister… The slayer was eyeing him oddly and instead of snapping at her like he usually did, he sped out of the room, planning to find two certain missing people.

He found them all right.

Hiei came upon the ice apparition and the baka just as the idiot was bending down to kiss the flustered girl. A surge of hate went through Hiei directed at Kuwabara and before he knew it, he was attacking Kuwabara.

He slashed his sword at Kuwabara, but he sensed it just in time and jumped back from Hiei's attack.

"What are you doing?" Kuwabara asked confused and angry, not knowing Hiei's relationship to Yukina. In fact, Yukina did not know Hiei's relationship to her and the sudden attack confused them both.

"Hiei!" Yukina exclaimed, unsure of what was happening. Hiei turned his deadly gaze to Kuwabara once again, stalking toward him to attack.

"Hiei!" yelled another female voice from behind him, this one angry. _I could really use a 'sit' command for him right about now,_ she thought.

Hiei stopped, recognizing the voice, and his anger switched from the baka to the demon slayer behind him. He stalked over to her at normal human speed, while Sango took out her larger boomerang-like weapon. Hiei sped up and attacked Sango in a black blur, but Sango used her large weapon to fend off the attacks. She slid back with the force of each one of his strikes.

Kuwabara came from behind and tried to use his spirit sword against him, but Hiei spun and kicked Kuwabara in his jaw. It sent him to the floor while Yukina called out in protest.

When Hiei's attention wavered to Yukina for a second, Sango took the time to throw her Hiraikotsu at him. It hit him in the back rather forcefully and he fell to the ground after crying out. Sango had used her weapon in just the right way only to hurt him, not slice him in half, though she was tempted to.

Hiei lay on the floor, the intensified feeling of hate, gone. Hiei's anger decreased, leaving behind just normal anger not the deadly anger he had felt moments before. He was not sure why he had acted so harshly, but he knew it had not been him. Had the house intensified his anger just like it had to Inuyasha and Yusuke a long time before?

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" Sango yelled angrily at him, stalking over to where Hiei was getting up off the floor.

Hiei growled, ignoring all the pain that came from his back where Sango's weapon had hit him. "It wasn't my fault," he told her roughly.

"Yeah, and I'm a little, pink bunny," Sango said sarcastically.

Hiei glared. "You said it, not me."

Sango stomped her foot impatiently. "You are so infuriating!"

"Why the hell did you do that?" Kuwabara asked, making his way over cautiously with Yukina not far behind.

"I don't know," he said, hating the truth in his words.

Of course, none of the three people around him now knew Yukina was his sister and he was a _little_ over protective of her, but he had never meant to attack Kuwabara. Sure, he had felt hatred toward him, but not enough to kill. Then suddenly, he had gone blind with rage and was trying to kill Kuwabara… and then Sango. Though he doubted if he would have lingered long on the fact that he had killed them if he actually did. It wasn't like he liked either of them much, if at all.

"Could the house have done it? Taken over your emotions or something similar to that?" Yukina asked quietly.

He looked at her and he felt a tinge of guilt at how Yukina seemed to cower back under his gaze. Great, now his own sister was afraid of him too.

"Hn, maybe," he said, though he did not like the idea of whoever the house's conscience was to be able to influence him so easily. Or maybe it could only influence people when they felt an intense emotion…

Without another word, he left to go back to the common room with the others. The other three exchanged a glance and followed.

* * *

Kagome raced down the hallway and into the common room. In the back of her mind, something told her that everyone there was watching her and Inuyasha had even asked her a question, but her eyes could not see it. In fact, through her eyes the common room looked different then it had before when she left the others only a half-hour ago. The room had no people in it and less modern furniture to her eyes.

Kurama came into the room not too soon after her, but she was very determined not to look back at him. No, she should turn and face him, but her body did not cooperate and she kept on hurrying away. But wait, that wasn't right… how come her body was not cooperating?

"You can't run forever," called the male voice behind her. Her mind told her it was Kurama, but another part of her said it was another person, another man from two centuries ago.

Kagome stopped in her tracks and turned to face him. "I'm not running," she told him. Even she knew her words were lies.

He stalked over to her slowly and her mind screamed to walk away, but she was frozen. He reached out a hand to touch her cheek, but the way she stared at his hand made him drop it before it reached her face.

"What are you so afraid of?" he said in a hushed voice, though it still rang clearly throughout the room.

"I'm not afraid," she said heatedly. Okay, so she was in major denial.

"But you are," he whispered to her, "of what, though? That he'll find out? Of what he would do if he did?"

This time he did touch her cheek and she winced away from his touch. His hand trailed down her face, down her neck and over her shoulder until he held her arm and proceeded in bringing her closer.

"None of this should be happening!" she hissed out at him, yanking her arm out of his grasp, "it's wrong! And if anyone should see…."

She would have gone on, but he held a finger to her lips.

"I love you."

* * *

The others watched in shock at their performance. What were they doing? Didn't they realize that they were all watching and this conversation should have been private?

Inuyasha growled and began advancing on the kitsune. What the hell was the fox thinking? Declaring his love for her and all…. What the hell did he think he was doing? His temper rising, he began to storm over to the fox demon, intending to give him a piece or two of his mind, or even better yet, just beat the crap out of him.

However, Miroku held out his arm so that Inuyasha ran into it, making him stop. Inuyasha looked at Miroku giving him a death glare. "Why are you stopping me, monk?"

"I don't believe that's them," he told them, and everyone glanced at him curiously. He continued, "I think that the two are possessed, playing out a scene in the past, just like they did when they read the journals. Only this time, they are performing it in the present. They must have hit a hot spot or did something that triggered this event."

"Then why don't we stop them!" Inuyasha said, irritated, not liking how the kitsune was touching her.

"Inuyasha, we're trying to get out of this house. If this scene might help us escape, do you really want to interrupt it?" Miroku asked patiently with one eyebrow raised.

Inuyasha grumbled and glanced at two again. Well, they did not seem to be acting normal, so were they really possessed? _They better be, if Kurama wants to leave here with all his limbs attached, _Inuyasha thought.

Inuyasha backed off, though he still looked less than happy as he watched more of the scene unfold.

* * *

"I love you," Kurama/Yasuo said again, this time much louder.

"Don't say that!" Kagome/Miya exclaimed. "I don't want to hear it! And what would happen if anyone else heard?"

"Is that what you're worried about?"

"Yes! I mean, no! You don't love me!" Miya told him, then whispered, "you can't."

"I'd exclaim the words from the roof tops if that would make you believe them."

"Please, don't," she said, glancing away from him.

He sighed, trying to make her believe. "I would, but if I do…"

"That's exactly what I mean! If anything happens between us…. You're a servant and I'm a noble. You could be put to death if anything was found out," Kagome told him.

He put a hand under her chin, making her look up at him. Her eyes shone with unshed tears and his hard gaze softened after looking into her forest green eyes.

"I'd take that risk," he told her, "if only to be with you."

He began to lower his lips to hers, but she pulled back, away from him. "I can't…. We can't do this, Yasuo." Her eyes flickered over to the stairway, going right through the people that now stood there in the present. "He's waiting for me."

Kurama turned her face to him again in a gentle way and said softly, "don't go to him."

"I have to," Kagome whispered, the tears beginning to spill from her eyes.

"You don't. You can stay with me… love me," he told her quietly.

A sob escaped her. "Please, Yasuo, don't do this."

"Don't leave me, then. Let me love you," he told her.

He took her into his embrace, which only made her cry harder. How she wanted to stay in his arms, to just be held by a caring, loving person… But she could not. As a noble, she had to do what was right. She had to help her family. Her greedy, annoying family. It was breaking her heart, having to leave him, but the lord was waiting…

Kurama held her tightly, but she pulled back from him, even though he had a desperate hold on her. She took a step back and turned away from him, saying, "I'm sorry, but—"

That was as far as she got, however, before he grabbed her hand and brought her back to him, covering her mouth with his as he drew her into a deep, passionate kiss.

He could taste her tears on his lips and kissed her more passionately, wanting to make her pain go away. Her pain and his, after all the times she had left him when she had started to admit to the feelings she had for him.

She gave in then, melting into his embrace. She would not go to the lord; neither had she wanted to. She just wanted to stay in his arms for all eternity.

Inuyasha was practically about to tear Kurama apart, growling deep in his throat, but Miroku and Sango were holding firmly on to each one of his arms. Shippo gave him a whack on the head and Kirara had the back of his shirt in her teeth.

The green light appeared around Kagome again, and the same with the blue light around Kurama, the two lights swirling together around the two as they continued savoring the other's mouth. The two lights spun together over their heads, intertwining, then disappearing all together.

They were still kissing, which raised more than a few eyebrows and suspicions arose. Finally, they both seemed to realize they were back to normal and had an audience. The two sprung away from each other, panting as they did so, as Kagome tripped and fell to the floor, blushing like crazy. Sango went over to Kagome and helped her up as Kagome avoided everyone's gaze in the room, especially a certain fox demon.

The whole room began to shake violently, as the furniture shook and paintings clattered to the floor. One of the girls let out a piercing scream, which only made the room shake more forcefully. The couches began moving across the vibrating floor as cracks began forming in the floor and walls. Chunks of the ceiling fell freely to the floor, making the group dodge and roll away from the pieces. Everyone was eventually thrown onto the floor until the trembling abruptly stopped.

The dust settled in the room, as everyone got shakily to their feet, avoiding the large cracks in the floor that were big enough for someone to fall through.

"Guess the house didn't enjoy the show from the past," Yusuke said through the stillness of the room.

Which led to the same question Kagome had been wondering before. Could the house be either Yasuo or Miya, not wanting the past to be seen? Or someone who disapproved of their relationship or was even jealous of what they had?

* * *

They were still gathered in the common room sometime later, sitting on the new couches and armchairs that surrounded a small coffee table with glasses on top. The house had provided them with the new furniture after its little temper tantrum, while also creating a new and orderly room in general, different from the chaotic one before.

Hiei, in the shadows as always, did not look at the group at all and merely listened. Sango could not help sneaking looks at him, thinking about what he had done earlier. Exactly why had he felt hatred toward Kuwabara in the first place? What were his feelings toward Yukina that he was so protective of her? Was he jealous of Yukina and Kuwabara's relationship?

Kagome looked at no one, keeping her face tilted downward as she instead looked at her clasped hands in her lap while Inuyasha watched her curiously. She knew he was watching, but could not bring herself to meet his gaze. She had been caught kissing another guy when she claimed to love him, after all.

A sudden chill ran through Kagome and she turned her head sharply toward the center table where she felt the strange energy coming from. One of the cups on the table began vibrating, slowly then more rapidly, sliding gradually across the table. Childish laughter rang throughout the room and Kagome jolted to her feet, still staring down at the table.

It wasn't happy laughter nor was it cruel; it was just laughter heard around her, surrounding her, making the hairs on her arms stand. The amusement of the child was over quickly however, but for a split second a little girl formed in Kagome's view, sitting on the edge of the table, legs kicking playfully up and down, one after the other, as she sat. In the blink of an eye, she was gone. Kagome jumped back away from the ghostly presence, putting the couch between her and the table where the child had been.

"What happened? You look like you've seen a ghost," Yusuke commented, then realized how true his words might be in the haunted house they were in.

Kagome briefly glanced around the room and saw everyone looking at her, puzzled. Kurama and Inuyasha looked like they wanted to go by her side and help her. Had no one else heard or seen?

"I… and she… the table…. Oh, never mind," Kagome declared as she cautiously sat back in her seat, her elbow resting on her knee as she placed the side of her face delicately in her hand with an audible sigh.

Kurama could not help but think how cute she looked while at the same time watching her through concerned eyes. He might have continued to watch her or ask her about what she experienced, if it had not been for the fact that Inuyasha gave him a glare that could make plants wilt. Kurama supposed he was not over the whole, 'him kissing Kagome' thing, not that he blamed Inuyasha. Kurama could tell that through Inuyasha's eyes, Kagome was his, even if he would not admit it.

Most were still bewildered at what had just happened, but they put it behind them as the rest of the events of the day were being discussed, mainly Hiei's hatred and Kagome and Kurama's possession. Miroku seemed to be the one who understood what was happening, and he explained to the rest.

"It's still very possible for any of the three involved in the scene today, Miya, Yasuo, and Akio, to be the house, but there are also the other four people to consider. Akio could have killed everyone after getting mad with Miya for taking a lover, or Yasuo could have gone crazy if Miya ever picked the lord over him. And we still know nothing of the other four, who could just as likely be the spirit possessing the house. For instance, if one of the servants was jealous of the romance. Like Yuki being jealous of Miya, not for the romance, but for being a lady in the first place, while Yuki obviously wanted to marry a lord."

"I can't imagine Yasuo doing anything so violent though as to kill the rest. He seems like such a sweetheart," Kagome said.

"You'd be surprised what jealousy could do to a person then," Kurama said quietly and Kagome made very sure she did not look at him. She did not want to see the expression on his face.

Miroku continued. "It's obvious now that the house seems to thrive on love, jealous, hatred, those kinds of emotions. Probably because those are the emotions that were felt throughout the house when the seven people were alive. When Hiei saw Yukina and Kuwabara together, he felt hatred toward Kuwabara and the house intensified that, until it turned into the blind hatred that made him want to attack and kill Kuwabara and then Sango. He wanted someway to release his anger and killing seemed to be the way to do that, no matter who he killed," he explained.

"Well aren't you the next Sherlock Holmes," Shizuru said to Miroku, dryly.

Miroku, however, looked puzzled at this comment. "Who?"

She shook her head. "Never mind."

"You seem to understand a lot of this though," Keiko commented.

Miroku shrugged, though he had a modest smile on his face. "Through over-analysis, I suppose." He continued on with his explanation then. "The same way Hiei had felt his hatred toward the two, Inuyasha had felt jealousy when Kagome and Kurama were kissing."

Kagome was blushing even harder now, keeping her eyes downcast with her bangs covering them.

"I wasn't jealous," Inuyasha protested, while Sango rolled her eyes, and everyone else ignored him. Hadn't he said the same thing every time Kouga came and he wound up feeling jealous of Kouga? He was most definitely in denial.

When he saw everyone ignore him, Inuyasha grew angry. Why was no one paying attention to him?

"I wasn't!"


	16. Love Hate

_"Passion. It lies in all of us. Sleeping… waiting… And though unwanted…unbidden… it will stir… open its jaws, and howl. It speaks to us… guides us… Passion rules us all. And we obey. What other choice do we have?" —_AngelusBuffy the Vampire Slayer

_

* * *

_

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**_Deadly Games _**

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**Chapter Sixteen: Love/Hate **

* * *

Sango's footsteps were light as she walked down the hallway, her movements as graceful as any cat. They did not echo around the room, like other's might have. She walked at a leisurely pace, though eyeing the walls with wariness, just wondering when the demon would come again. Another week had past and the bear youkai had not come back, which made her unsure if that fact was a good or bad one. Sango just wanted it over and done with; she wanted the demon to come out so they could kill it. It was the only way she would be able to sleep easier at night.

"Here demon, demon, demon," she said wryly, as though she were calling to a hidden pet.

"The advanced styles of demon slayers stalking their prey."

She heard the voice behind her and nearly groaned when she recognized the annoying owner of that voice.

"And some wonder why there aren't many demon slayers today."

Sango growled softly and turned around to face the fire demon, hands on her hips. "What are you doing here, Hiei? Come to accompany me?" she asked, her last phrase said with a wicked twist.

"Hn," he responded, "don't flatter yourself. I was off by myself and the house led me here. Why are you all alone? Where's your miko friend?"

Sango shrugged. "I wanted to be by myself," she told him. Truthfully she would not have minded if Kagome had come with her, but Kagome was on and off around Kurama most of the time. They always talked for awhile and genuinely enjoyed each other's company, feeling at complete ease around one another. Yet still, she usually ended up leaving hurriedly after their encounters, still confused about her own feelings.

Hiei was about to retort something, when a door abruptly slammed open and a strong gust emerged from nowhere. It pushed them without difficulty toward the open door that waited invitingly. Sango did not even try to fight it, knowing in the end she would be pulled into the room. Hiei, however, tried to use his speed, but that only resulted in the wind growing faster and pushing them both roughly inside. Once they were in, the wind abruptly stopped, causing them to fall roughly to the floor, and the door slammed closed behind them.

Sango got up and tried to open it for the heck of it, though already she knowing it would be locked. She was right; the door wouldn't budge.

"Why do I always get stuck with the fire demon," Sango murmured while massaging her aching temples.

"I heard that," he told her.

She glared at him. "I wouldn't have said it out loud if I hadn't intended you to hear. I know you're a demon and you have better hearing than humans. I'm not stupid."

"Could have fooled me."

"Why don't you just shut up," she told him, then added in a mutter, "jerk."

"Idiot bitch," he responded, almost as a reflex.

"You already mentioned the idiot part," she stated. "Now who's the baka?"

"I thought I'd have to mention it twice, you being that stupid."

She rolled her eyes without responding and moved over to the long mirror in the room. It was similar to the one that Kagome had fallen through during a time that seemed so long ago, though this one looked cheaper and less extravagant. A thin layer of dust covered the glass, as well as much of the rest of the room. It reminded her of Miya's, if only in that respect. It seemed that only the rooms that the seven had lived in were untouched and covered in dust while the other rooms in the house had been kept perfectly neat. It was as though the house's conscience did not want to disturb anything from the bedrooms of the people who had once lived there. The only question was, whose room were they in?

Actually, there were only three choices, Yuki, Yasuo, or Kura. The nobles' rooms had been expensive and had been in one hallway, and only the servant Ryu had lived in that hallway too, his room connected to that of Lord Akio's. The room they were had cheap furniture anyway, meaning it was a servant's room. Judging by the looks of it, it had been a female's room, which meant it had to be Yuki's. Yippee for process of elimination.

Yuki, Sango recalled, had been the seductress who had designs on the second lord of the house. It was doubtfully though that her plans would have—or rather, had—worked. Lords might have had servant mistresses, but they hardly ever married them. Not only was it frowned upon, but they saw the girls as toys, nothing more.

Hiei had flopped down on the bed in the room, making a large layer of dust float into the air. He had his arms behind his head as he regarded Sango as she looked into the mirror, able to see his reflection through it. She realized she had been silent for a long time, staring at him through the mirror.

"Why so quiet? Can't take an insult?" Hiei sneered.

Sango spun around, hands on her hips, while regarding Ryu. Yuki pressed her lips together in a thin line as she scowled at him.

"That was no insult," Yuki told Ryu. Then teasingly, "your attempts at insults are horrible."

"Hmm, maybe, but you still get flustered by them anyway. That makes the words worth it, doesn't it?" he told her. Their banter was playful, unlike that of Sango and Hiei, whose were life-threatening.

Yuki spun around again, regarding herself in the mirror. She wore a low cut dress, scandalously low—but what else can you expected from an accomplished seductress?—prepared to dazzle the Lord Jiro, whom she was about to meet with. A slightly cruel smile fell on her red lips, giving her sapphire eyes an evil glint and her face a sinister glow.

The dark beauty on her bed sat up, regarding her through the mirror. "You give him that look and he might regret inviting you up," Ryu told her as he moved closer to her, though he still remained on the bed.

"Can I help delighting in my plans? If all goes well, I'll be a rich noble, before you know what hit you," Yuki told Ryu. The look evaporated from her face however, leaving just the usual mysterious beauty behind.

She could not help but feel envious of what Lady Miya had. She was lovely; not quite as beautiful as Yuki, but still fairly attractive and she could have any lord marry her easily. The lady had an almost positive chance at marrying a rich noble, while Yuki had to work hard at it, and yet still she hardly had a likelihood of doing so. Miya had that sweet innocence around her that made it easy to capture any lord into her grasp and yet… and yet she did the unimaginable! She would rather be with a servant! And not even a handsome one like Ryu, just an average, run-of-the-mill servant! Yuki had seen the two together, making quite a show in one of the common rooms. Miya was a _lady_, a noble. She could have anyone, and yet she chose a servant over a rich lord! What had possessed her to do such a stupid thing? Maybe she'd have to tell Lord Akio about this…

"Yes, and you'll see me downstairs serving as your cook or footman," Ryu told her rather dryly, bringing her back to herself and out of her furious thoughts.

She chose to ignore that comment and brushed imaginary lint off her dress. "Anyway, he didn't invite me to his room. I thought I'd 'drop by' and ask if he needed anything."

"Well, in that case…" Ryu said as he moved closer to her.

He reached for one of her arms, pulling her onto the bed with him. He pushed her down so that her head lay on the pillows and proceeded to climb on top of her. Yuki lay underneath him, his front pressed against hers with his arms on either side of her to lift him up slightly.

"Ryu," she said in a warning tone of voice, but was ignored by him. Even she was not convinced by her stern voice.

He brought his lips down to her neck, leaving a trail of warm, moist kisses on her. Her laughter full of mirth, she wrapped her arms around him the best she could with him pressed up against her. Yuki closed her eyes and shuddered against him as his lips trailed slowly downward and he pushed the dress' material away from her shoulders, reaching her bare skin.

Trying to get her hooks into Jiro, she still did not mind enjoying certain pleasures with Ryu as well. It meant nothing to her, just a little bit of fun. Sex meant nothing to her at all, no deep feelings, because she could not allow that, being the temptress that she was.

She opened her eyes just as Ryu lifted his head up, his lips now searching for hers. She could feel his warm breath on her, an absolutely wonderful feeling. Just when his lips were hovering above hers, however, his eyes changed slowly, leaving those of crimson ones. Both froze as Ryu and Yuki disappeared, leaving Sango and Hiei in their place.

Neither moved for a few moments, their breath coming quick. Sango's heart was pounding; Hiei could feel it with his chest pressed tightly against hers. His red eyes, however, were intent on hers, never leaving them, staying just how Ryu had been. Abruptly, he rolled off her with a growl and stormed out of the room as Sango slowly sat up in a dazed state.

* * *

"It wasn't much. Ryu and Yuki were just discussing Lord Jiro a bit, and then Yuki had said how she had planned to marry a rich lord and not have to be a servant anymore," Sango explained to everyone. Well, almost everyone.

Sango had given the group a brief recap of what happened, but Hiei was no where in sight. She had only told them what was said, not telling of the… actions that had been performed. That would have been too embarrassing. She could only image how Kuwabara and Yusuke would poke fun and she did not even want to think of what Miroku's reaction would have been.

"You must have hit a hot spot just like Kagome and Kurama did," Miroku said.

"I guess, but it was a little different because I looked at him and he was Ryu, the exact appearance of him and it was like I was gone too. It was Yuki there, not me," she explained, trying to put the experience into words.

"It likes a combination of the two things that happened to me. I was in Miya's body, in her past, just playing along with what happened to her after I got sucked into the journal, and then it happened again, except I was in the present and it still was Kurama and me, kind of. Yours was in the present, but more like what happened when I fell into the journal," Kagome told her.

"So something important must have happened if you saw it," Shizuru commented.

_Or the house just thought it would be '_fun_' to put two people who hate each other in that situation,_ Sango thought, annoyed. Out loud, she said, "possibly. There was also another thing in Yuki's thoughts. She… was highly jealous of Miya. Miya could have any lord, while she hardly had a shot at one. She also knew about Miya and Yasuo's relationship and thought Miya an idiot for falling for a servant. She wanted to tell Lord Akio about it, just because of her jealousy."

"Well that opens a whole new can of worms, doesn't it?" Yusuke declared.

"There are worms involved now?" Shippo asked, obviously perplexed. Yusuke opened his mouth to explain, but the fox continued, shaking his head as he spoke. "I don't like this," Shippo whined. "Everything's so confusing." He snuggled next to Kagome in the chair, while she smiled and brought the small kitsune closer in a hug.

Suddenly, Inuyasha growled, his face turned toward one of the walls in the room. "Get down!" he yelled.

Everyone looked around, confused, but Inuyasha got down to the floor, bringing Kagome and in effect Shippo too down with him. The others quickly followed, just in time to miss a blast that went just over their heads. It took off the tops of the couches they had been sitting on instead, disintegrating them quickly.

The bear youkai came running out of the wall, charging right toward them. The girls jumped out of the way, except for Kagome and Sango, who readied their weapons along with the guys. Kagome was first to attack, firing an arrow, which made the youkai dance back and away from it. Grumbling, Kagome reached for another while Kurama attacked with his rose whip and Inuyasha rampaged with Tetsusaiga in hand.

Yusuke fired a blast at it while the other two were still attacking it, and Kuwabara joined the fight with a swing of his sword. It soon found this to be too much, so it escaped into the wall and came out the opposite one, running toward the girls.

Miroku tried to use his wind tunnel, but that just made the demon cower once again and escape until it came out the wall behind him. It charged at him at full speed until Kuwabara and Kurama tried to distract him with their attacks.

Yusuke walked over to Kagome and asked with a slight smile, "combine forces?"

For a moment she looked puzzled, then nodded with understanding. She aimed as the other boys distracted the demon. She fired at the same time that Yusuke fired his spirit gun, and the two attacks swirled together, the blue of Yusuke's blast surrounding the pink light of the arrow, as it flew through the air.

The green bear youkai tried to escape and nearly did, but Kurama's whip encircled his back leg to keep him from running. Kirara stepped in front of it, roaring a challenge just as the arrow hit the youkai in the same back leg. It roared in pain, falling to the ground. Sango threw her hiraikotsu and caught the same back leg as it tried to move away, making the demon fall over as its blood and severed leg fell to the floor.

Almost to the wall now, the demon rolled itself and its missing limb into it, disappearing once again. After fusing with the wall, Kurama's rose whip was left behind, since it was not able to go through.

"I don't want to even think about that demon coming back," Yusuke said. "Right now, I just wanna eat."

"You want to eat? After seeing that demon's leg cut off and seeing all that blood?" Keiko said, disgusted.

"Hey, it's way passed dinner time and I'm hungry. I'm going to see what the house has to offer for eating," Yusuke said and Kuwabara nodded in agreement.

The house had begun making the meals awhile ago and after they learned that the house would not poison them with the food, they continued to let it manifest the meals, instead of Kurama and Kagome cooking them all the time. Though Kagome hated to admit it, she missed the alone time with Kurama.

She enjoyed talking to Kurama and he was always kind to her, which was refreshing after spending so much time with the rude Inuyasha and Miroku, who was just perverted most of the time and Kouga, who was way too possessive. Unlike Inuyasha, who always made sure she was around so they could hunt for jewel shards, Kurama did not want anything out of her. He just wanted her, to listen and talk to her and he seemed to genuinely care when she voiced her opinion. What more could she want?

She chanced a small glance at Inuyasha then at Kurama and felt a small pang. What more indeed? The deep pang she felt was because she was not sure now if she could help Inuyasha anymore. Could she still save him from being dragged into hell with Kikyo, _if_ they ever did get back? Inuyasha _needed_ her, so what did it matter what she wanted? Because she wanted…

"Kagome?" Kurama asked softly.

Kagome snapped out of her dazed state and gave the worried kitsune a small smile as she followed the others.

They followed Yusuke and Kuwabara to the dining hall though most of the girls were not that hungry. The guys, Kagome, and Sango were used to such sights by now that they no longer felt sick after seeing them. Though Kagome had to admit she still felt a little queasy and Sango however did not follow the rest.

Instead of going to eat, Sango slipped away from the others, planning to find a certain fire demon.

* * *

Sango stood hesitantly outside the room she knew was Hiei's, unsure of whether or not she should go in. Finally, she frowned at herself for being so indecisive and opened the door to reveal the dark room beyond it.

There was no light in the room; it was filled with darkness except for the pale moonlight that seeped in through the window. She closed the door behind her with a soft click as her eyes searched the room, looking for the fire demon. He slowly came out of the shadows, though they desperately tried to cling to him, until he was half-illuminated by the moonlight. Even so his red eyes were seen easily with their eerie glow. He still wore the black pants he had on before, but he was shirtless, his cloak thrown on a chair to one side of the room.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, not really sure why it was there in the first place. Okay, so maybe he was a _little_ attractive…

"What do you want, slayer?" Hiei asked, his voice clearly showing his anger. It brought her back to reality.

"I thought maybe we should talk," Sango responded, though she was regretting coming at all. _Like he could act mature about what happened_, she thought bitterly.

"Fine, let's talk. If you tell anyone about what happened, I will kill you," he threatened.

"I already did," Sango said, though her words were partially a lie. She did not want anyone to know either and had not told them all that happened. However, she wanted to see his reaction and if he would really follow through with his threat, though it was not the most intelligent thing to do. The old phrase popped into her head and she smirked slightly as she thought of it; if you're going to play with fire, you're gonna get burned.

A growl-like noise escaped him and before she knew what happened, Sango was slammed against the wall. Her back screamed in pain as her head whipped back and banged against the wall. Her head throbbing, she let out a small cry of pain before she made herself stop and glare at the demon that was holding her.

"Don't worry, I didn't tell them what we did, only what was said," Sango told him.

He let her go which allowed her move away from the wall while he moved away also. She continued, "do you think I want anyone to know what we could have done if it continued? I doubt those two would have stopped at kissing."

"No, really?" Hiei said sarcastically.

"And it would have been in our bodies. They might have possessed us, or whatever they did, but it was still us," Sango said, clearly disgusted by the thought alone. Or at least, that was what she was trying to convince herself.

"I'd first be caught dead than do anything with you," Hiei told her, irritated.

"I would never, ever even want to kiss you!" Sango cried out just as angrily.

"You think I don't feel the same way?" Hiei said. "You're a human. A filthy, disgusting human."

Well, at least she knew where he stood, but the words stung, making her snap back at him. "Like you're any better! You're demon scum. No, you're even worse than that. You're probably the most evil, repulsive demon I know. I'd first be caught with Naraku than you and that's saying a hell of a lot."

As the words tumbled out of her mouth, she knew they were not true, but she was not about to take them back and let him have even the smallest bit of satisfaction.

"Repulsive, huh?" he said, his voice thick with rage, though his words were spoken low and menacingly. "I'll show you repulsive."

He reached a hand up, yanking his bandana off as his Jagan opened. The same anger was still on her face and Hiei admitted that he was surprised when he saw no revulsion that he had expected on her features. Even the miko had been slightly disturbed by his third eye. It annoyed him though; he wanted her to be disgusted and sickened like others were when they saw him. He was the Forbidden Child. She was supposed to be revolted by him.

Wanting to see the disgust on her face, now to the point where he was so infuriated he needed to see it, Hiei concentrated his body into transforming. Slowly, his skin turned from pale to green; dozens of eyes began opening all over his exposed body. Twin fangs appeared in his mouth while his still black hair shot up even more spiky than normal.

No shock or horror came onto her face. If anything, an impassive expression appeared. In all her years of demon slaying, she had seen much worse before. Was she supposed to be afraid now? To go running and screaming out of the room? The only thing that surprised her at all was the fact that he had another form, nothing more.

In a bored voice, she said, "Is that supposed to scare me? I take it back. You're not evil and repulsive. You're more like a harmless kitten. Not even worth anyone's time."

He growled in frustration. She wasn't supposed to act this way! He found himself getting angrier with her because of her bored response. The slayer was supposed to be appalled and try to kill him because he was an evil demon. Because he was wrong, the Forbidden Child.

The transformation reversed itself, turning him back to the normal, human-looking Hiei again. He tied his bandana back on roughly. Sango walked further into the room and away from him, but he grabbed one of her arms, jerking her around to face him.

"Why aren't you afraid?" he asked, infuriated.

"Of what, you? Don't flatter yourself!" she spat at him, yanking her arm out of his grasp.

"You little bitch," Hiei hissed at her in a low voice, his face very close to hers.

"I wouldn't be the one talking, you—" Sango began, but she never got to finish.

Suddenly, Hiei did something that surprised them both. He pushed her against the wall once again with his body pressed on top of her. Only this time, he was kissing her passionately. Sango made small noises of protest at first while struggling against him, but then found herself easing in his tight grip, returning the kiss and closed her eyes as she did so. His hands made his way down to her hips and he grabbed her, pressing her against him.

Hiei's tongue pressed hard against her lips and her choice was either to open her mouth and give him entrance or let him bruise her mouth. Sango parted her lips willingly, letting the warmth of him enter her. His tongue stroked hers, deepening the kiss considerably, while one hand slid up to cup one of her breasts. He banged her against the wall forcefully once again when he realized she had gotten even the smallest bit loose.

She moaned in pleasure, pressing her body even closer to him if that was even possible. He withdrew his tongue, but the kiss was still intense and deep, filled with long awaited desire and need. His lips left hers and trailed down her neck, leaving moist kisses behind. His kisses trailed up and down her neck and then along her jaw line, taunting her kiss-swollen lips that wanted to feel his again. She tried to capture his lips when he kissed the side of her face, but he moved away before she could. She made a noise of protest as her breathing became ragged, wanting the taste of his lips once more. He did return to her mouth, but only for a few seconds before he bit down on her lower lip, drawing blood. Sango made a startled cry and he laughed slightly, before sucking on her bottom lip, bringing the metallic taste into his mouth.

Abruptly, he drew away from her altogether, taking off all the pressure he had against her body. Sango opened eyes unfocused with desire to see what had happened, only to be thrown roughly onto the bed. She landed on her back on Hiei's bed and he did not hesitate to climb on top of her, his legs straddling her waist and a hand on either side off her shoulders so that he leaned over her.

Sango brought her hands up to his chest, her fingertips playing over the smooth muscles there. Hiei closed his eyes, as her gentle touch moved down him slowly. The lower she went, the more reaction she got from him. She traced small circles over his stomach teasingly and he shuddered as she did so. She finally got down lower, her fingers touching his skin just above his pants, playing over them. His eyes snapped open and crimson orbs bore down into her, so much so that she shivered beneath him just from the look in his intense eyes.

Not waiting any longer, Hiei captured her lips in another rough, near bruising kiss, filled with passion and longing. Consumed by heat and desire, neither ever thought to stop and think of what it was they were doing.


	17. Morning After

**_Deadly Games _**

**Chapter Seventeen: Morning After **

* * *

Sango woke up slowly, aching all over. Why was she so sore?

Her cheek was pressed up against something firm and warm, her arms wrapped around an equally warm object. Groggily, she turned her head to the side as she tried to blink the sleep out of her eyes. Of course, when she made the mistake of moving her head, she caught a glimpse of the person whose chest her head leaned against.

"Oh… my… God…"

What the hell happened last night? Okay, she _knew_ what happened, but why? Why did she let herself do that? Why did she let _him_ do that? She felt… dirty, unclean and disgusted… with herself. How could she have let him do those things to her? She hated him! At least she thought she had… but, no! She still hated him! This wasn't supposed to happen. None of it was supposed to happen.

Thoughts of last night came crashing into her mind as she stiffly got up, wrapping the sheet around her and wincing with every movement. Nonetheless, she moved as quickly as she could off the bed and away from the peacefully sleeping demon. Every part of her body was sore or hurt in one way or another, as her eyes searched the room for her clothes. They had been thrown all over, much to her annoyance since she had to walk further around collecting them all while still clinging to the sheet around her with one hand. As she put them on, she tried very hard not to notice the teeth marks and bruises all over her body, to no prevail. She would be wearing long sleeves for awhile to come, that was for sure.

Just as she was putting on her last article of clothing, Hiei began to open his eyes and sat up, fully alert already. He spoke a soft "hn" when he saw Sango standing in the middle of the room, fully dressed with the sheet pooled at her feet. She avoided catching his eye very purposefully. He stood and she turned away with a blush while he found his pants and pulled them on.

Noticing the way she glanced away, Hiei commented disdainfully, "ashamed with yourself already?"

She turned entirely toward him, glaring daggers. If looks could kill, Hiei would be long dead by now. Then again, so would she.

"Last night… that wasn't supposed to happen!" Sango snapped at him.

He raised an eyebrow and said mockingly, "you seemed to be enjoying it well enough at the time."

She blushed like crazy much to his satisfaction. He loved making her feel uncomfortable.

"Shut up! I'm going to have nightmares about last night," she told him heatedly.

She stalked over to him so they both stood by the bed as they continued to argue. Her words were lies, but they seemed to be the only appropriate words Sango could find.

"And you think I won't? If you feel disgusted with yourself, imagine how I feel," he spat out.

"You are so obnoxious!" Sango exclaimed.

"So are we going to start with the name calling now? Let me begin, you—"

Sango's hands became fists, shaking in all her fury. Very quickly she lost control before he even finished his sentence and ended up slapping him with all her strength, harder than she had ever slapped Miroku before.

"You… ass!" she yelled at him while whirling around to leave the room.

He growled and grabbed her wrist painfully tight, bringing her back to him and then suddenly covered her lips with his. He pushed her onto the bed and fell with her on top of it, not letting his lips leave hers for a second. She was half bent over the side of the bed, her feet still on the floor. Sango began kissing him back, eating at his mouth hungrily before she realized what she was doing. She made noises of protest, but when he ignored her, she pushed him off her roughly. He staggered backwards.

"Stop doing that!" she yelled at him as she rolled off the bed on the other side so that the bed was between them. Another move like that and she doubted she would push him off again. Then the mistakes of last night would most likely be repeated. But why was that so? She hardly liked the demon at all, yet she let him do things like that to her.

"Why?" he said, his piercing crimson eyes boring through her just like they had before. "You didn't protest last night."

"That's because I wasn't thinking much of anything last night! We don't even like each other! At all!" Sango argued.

"So?" he asked, not really getting her point.

"You're supposed to care for the person you decide to… sleep with," Sango said, not being able to bring herself to say sex out loud. "Not loathe them with a fiery vengeance!" She gestured to herself and then to him. "All of this, you, me. It's wrong! It's all just lust. Lust piled on top of fierce hatred."

"And again, I say, so?"

Seeing her shocked and appalled face, he went on as he began walking around the bed, making his way closer to her as she moved backward, away from him.

He was a demon and this was the only type of relationship he knew. Demons took lovers, and although it held the word, there was no love involved. Animal instincts took over, leaving only passion. That was the only type of relationship he had ever know, nothing more than that.

"You're right. I don't like you and you don't like me, and the dislike could be easily substituted with hate, but does that really matter? Or does it just matter the way the desire makes you feel? Makes you forget all the pain? Like you said, it is just lust. What's so wrong with that?"

She could actually think of a lot of things. She did not trust him one bit and just because they had been in bed together, did not mean that he would stop threatening to destroy her or really one day just kill her. She could end up pregnant too, which she was not ready for. And then there was always Miroku, who would never wake up and smell the coffee and realize she had feelings for him… if he even cared at all.

"Forget everything else. Let the desire consume you," Hiei told her.

Her anger was raging and he was completely emotionless, which only infuriated her more. He put one arm around her waist and brought her into him forcefully. She brought a hand up to slap him, but just before it impacted his face, his other hand caught her wrist, moving too fast for her to see.

He brought her face down into a rough kiss, but she shoved him away. She stalked toward the door, and this time, he did not try to stop her, only watched as his own anger rose. Where did she come off, being such a bitch? She had not been complaining at all last night. No, it had been quite the opposite.

Sango opened the door and yelled furiously, "last night was a mistake! It never happened!"

Then she slammed the door with such force that the whole wall rattled.

* * *

Kagome felt like she was being suffocated. How did they breathe in such tight dresses so long ago! …Or _maybe_ it could have been the fact that Miya might have been a smaller size than her, but she would rather ignore that fact. Still though, the dresses seemed to emphasize a woman's breast and her curves, practically begging all the guys in the area to have their eyeballs fall out of their sockets.

She had gone to Miya's room and tried on some of her clothes, in hopes that she would be able to get a vision that might help. So far, no luck. She sighed and twirled in the dress, liking how it spun in the air, sweeping off the ground. She kept twirling, finding that she could not stop.

She kept spinning but now in a rhythmic fashion as she hummed a melody. Miya continued to dance as she sung, thinking about all that had happened since she had moved in two months ago.

Lord Akio she had rarely even seen, always busy doing some work or other important things she supposed, though when she did see him it was not very much fun anyway. He was always so distant and stiff toward her and unable to act like a normal person. He relied entirely on the formality he knew. Did he not realize that she wanted to know him, acting like himself, and not be brushed off to the side all the time?

To keep from getting lonely, most of the time she ended up talking to the servant, Yasuo. He had quickly learned not to be so formal around her when they were alone and he could be rather entertaining. She certainly did not mind his company since he was actually quite sweet and fairly intelligent.

She continued to dance until she heard the door open and she whirled around to see who had come in. Yasuo came in, holding a tray with her breakfast prepared on it. She blushed a deep red color and greeted him.

"I brought you your breakfast," he told her, as though that was not already obvious.

"Thank you, Yasuo. I—I was just practicing my dancing," she said, feeling like she owed him an explanation.

"You're very good," he told her honestly.

Again, she blushed and he took pleasure in knowing he could make her feel that way. Most others would just ignored him.

"Thank you," she responded. She then asked him with curiosity and utter sincerity, "would you like to learn?"

As a servant, he had never been taught to dance since only the nobility went to fancy balls and such. "I don't think it would be right—" Yasuo began, but Miya interrupted him.

"Hush, now come here," she told him in a moment of boldness, while gesturing him over with her hands.

He knew if he did not she would persist until he agreed, so he put the tray down and made his way over to her. He had wanted to in the first place, but he had not thought it would be proper. Of course, Miya seemed to like to break all the rules when it came to the formalities between servant and noble.

She placed one of his hands on her hip, making it his turn to blush slightly while she clasped the other in her hand. They began swaying to a rhythm only in Miya's head since they had no actually music. She had to jump back a few times to avoid getting her feet stomped on, but otherwise Yasuo was gracefully and she laughed joyfully, enjoying dancing with him.

Yasuo spun her around, having seen other lords do such thing before when he had been serving at a lord's party once. Miya spun elegantly around, but on the way back she had the misfortune of tripping slightly and she fell forward into his embrace. Slowly, very slowly, she looked up to see Yasuo looking at her with worry-filled blue eyes. They stayed liked that for a moment until suddenly her arms gently went to either of his shoulder and she stood on her tiptoes to give him a chaste kiss. His hands tightened on her waist and he hugged her body to him.

The tray suddenly vanished from the room and Kagome and Kurama were standing there kissing, just like they did before when they were possessed in the common room. They broke off slowly and Kagome rest her head on Kurama's chest feeling his rhythmic heartbeat against her cheek.

He kissed the top of her head and asked softly, "are you alright?"

She nodded her head as she closed her eyes and he just enjoyed the moment of holding her. He enjoyed the moment because he knew she would run soon and he wanted to hold onto her for as long as he could. She would run; she always did.

There had always been a gap in him, a deep feeling of loneliness that never seemed to go away. He was always expected to have the answers, to always know what was going on and never show what he was truly feeling. The time the two had spent together during the time in the house, they had really gotten to know each other well. Kagome seemed to care for him, always having that concerned look in her eyes when he was feeling down… just like she cared for everyone else around her because that was just who she was naturally. She was just that type of person.

That was why he could not help but love her. She cared for him, filled the hole of lonesomeness inside him that he thought no one would ever be able to reach. The truth was he fell in love rather easily with the kindhearted miko. He only wished…. He wished she felt the same way.

Kagome delighted in these moments with Kurama. The tender look in his eyes when she was near… his sweet nature and his determination in fighting and otherwise… but something always went wrong. Mainly, her thoughts always turned to Inuyasha and the guilt overwhelmed her. She felt as if being with Kurama was making her unfaithful to Inuyasha, even if there was nothing between them. Kagome still felt in ways that she was Inuyasha's, just like in her past life as Kikyo she had been his. She still felt that bonded. Of course, it didn't help that Kikyo was back and Inuyasha was at times more loyal to her than to Kagome. Still, Inuyasha was a part of her life and always would be. She loved him, but that didn't stop her for loving another…

Kagome left his embrace and went quickly to the door.

"You don't have to run," said the quiet voice behind her.

Kagome stopped and halfway turned toward him, whispering, "but it's wrong."

"What's so wrong about it?"

Kagome felt herself getting angry. Shouldn't he already know? Did she have to explain it to him? If he knew it already she did not want to say it out loud because it would hurt him. In her angry however, she yelled, "it just is! It's wrong, all wrong! I'm in love with Inuyasha! This shouldn't be happening!"

Kagome grabbed her clothes and stormed out of the room, leaving a hurt Kurama behind.

She could ease his pain… but could just as easily make the hole within him deeper. Why did she have such power over him?

But the answer was easy enough. He was in love.

* * *

Keiko and Yusuke sat on the couch in Yusuke's room, alone, talking about whatever came to mind. Usually everyone was gathered in the common room during the day because there was not much else to do, but today it seemed everyone was scattered on their own.

"What's black and white and red all over?" she asked him, curled up at his side.

"A dying zebra," he guessed while she glared at him in a disapproving way.

"Well, you have a bleak outlook on life."

"What else could it have been?"

"It could have been anything! Though _you_ chose the dying animal. Nice job, Yusuke," she told him dryly, though she moved closer to him and he put his arm around her.

"Actually, it could have been a lot of different dying animals. A dying penguin…" he began, just to annoy her and she lightly elbowed him in the stomach.

The fire crackled as one log became two, the fire having consumed the center of the log. The flames slowly consumed it along with others. Keiko gazed into it and said quietly, "I miss the outdoors."

"I miss television. Video games too. I never did get to play that new game that had just come out."

"So you just care about all the technology that you're missing out on," Keiko said sourly.

He shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much. Like I said before, I'm a city guy. What, you miss nature and all that?"

"Well, yeah. I'd give anything to just walk into the forest again, to lay out in the sun." She closed her eyes remembering what it felt like to have the sun warm on her face.

"There is that miniature forest in the center of this mansion," Yusuke pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's a cheap imitation. I'll wait for the real thing," Keiko told him. "When I get out of here, the first thing I'm doing is walking through the forest and finding a patch of lilies and just lie down, stretched out on the grass."

"Lilies?" he questioned, one eyebrow raised. Sounded like some weird fantasy to him.

"Uh-huh. They're my favorite. Kagome told me they have some in that mini-forest part, but I want to wait to see them in the wild again. Heck, I'll even wait to buy them in the shop, just as long as it means we're out of here. I love them though, they're extremely beautiful."

"Hmm, beautiful," Yusuke said in agreement, though he gazed at Keiko while he said it, who was looking into the fire.

Keiko looked up to smile at him, then realized he had been looking at her. She blushed and Yusuke kissed her gently, then pulled away. Keiko sighed contently, resting her head on Yusuke's chest as he embraced her tightly.

Quietly, Keiko admitted, "I love you, Yusuke."

Yusuke tensed at her words. She brought her head up to kiss him gently again, then curled up closer in his arms.

"You don't have to tell me until your ready," she told him sincerely.

He relaxed considerably and hugged her to him, whispering, "I'm sorry."

Keiko only smiled and said, "when you're ready."


	18. Goodbye To You

**_Deadly Games_**

**Chapter Eighteen: Goodbye to You**

* * *

Kuwabara reached out a hand quickly to snatch the object out of the air and grinned triumphantly when his fingers grasped his prize. He glanced at Yukina, who gave him an encouraging smile while at the same time he could feel an uncomfortable prickling feeling begin between his shoulder blades. As he expected, he found Hiei glaring at him when he glanced over his shoulder, but decided to ignore him for once and instead turned his attention to the others in the room.

His eyes found all of his friends, new and old, gathered together in the common room as they tended to do when boredom seeped into the rooms of the mansion. There seemed to be nothing to do in the large house as of late, except for the occasional attack, though they were usually unchallenging. Kuwabara wondered briefly if that was possibly a good or bad thing. But, nah, he was thinking too much. He _should_ just enjoy the peace while it lasted… but it did nothing to stop his boredom.

He realized expectant eyes were watching him, which caused him to glance down at his prize. A small ball sat in his palm and Kuwabara turned it over in his hand. Their increasing boredom had caused Kagome to retrieve the soft, squishy ball from her pack and they had proceeded to throw it among them; it at least gave them something to do to push away the dullness.

"Ducks," Kuwabara decided finally and nodded to himself. He then lifted his arm and threw it gently across the room to Keiko. She had to lean forward a bit from her seat on the couch, but she was able to catch it.

"Are yellow," she said as she caught the green sphere. She did not know exactly what train of thought Kuwabara was riding so responded as best as she could. With a smile and a shrug, she tossed the ball to Yusuke, who was sitting across from her.

"And feathery," Yusuke added and gave her a half-smile. He chucked the ball none too softly at Inuyasha.

"Feh," he said as he caught it one handed, exchanging a glance with the Spirit Detective, and then threw it back to Kuwabara.

Without it having ever been decided or confirmed, it was an unsaid rule that whoever caught the ball was inclined to speak. The rest of the room remained quiet as it was tossed around, though their eyes followed the ball's movement and they were ready to catch it at a moment's notice. Some were grateful for the silence as they had no desire to talk.

"No, I mean we're like sitting ducks," Kuwabara explained. "Just waiting for this house to make its next move, not able to do anything on our own."

He tossed the ball rather kindly to Yukina, though it was Hiei, who refused to play their little game, who ended up speaking. The action earned him an unappreciative glance from Botan for breaking the "rules" of the game.

"That's one of the first partially intelligent things you have ever said. Did you hurt yourself thinking it up?" Hiei asked him. Kuwabara might have yelled an insult back at him, had Yukina not said in a soft voice, "Kazuma."

Kuwabara became sullen, but kept quiet, if only because his love wished for there not to be a fuss. Ensured that a fight would not break out, Yukina tossed the ball to Sango.

The demon slayer was not entirely paying attention and did not expect the sphere to be thrown her way, but once her eye caught the movement of the object, her instincts kicked in and a hand shot out to grab it. For a long moment she held it up and gazed at the object clutched tightly in her hand before slowly letting her grip ease.

"It's not like we can do anything about it," she said. Normally she might have continued the teasing of Kuwabara, but lately, many had noticed she was far more distant from the rest. She just did not feel up to joining Hiei in upsetting Kuwabara.

_I don't want to join Hiei in anything!_ she thought furiously as her face heated and she rid herself of the ball.

Miroku caught the small, green sphere easily when Sango threw it. "We just have to take whatever it throws at us. There's not much else to do."

He flung it to Kagome and she caught it, though, like Sango, she had not been paying much attention. She was too caught up in her thoughts. She stared down at the object in her hands and a feeling of dread welling up inside her. Kagome had a great sense of foreboding throughout her, but she pushed it down deep within her, ignoring the feeling.

_It's all in my head,_ she told herself firmly_, nothing bad will happen. It can't._

Realizing that everyone was watching her intently, she raised her head up and gave a small smile when she noticed Kurama's concerned gaze. Then she threw the ball to him without saying a word.

* * *

The room was loud with the sounds of fighting as attack after attack was thrown at the bear demon that they had previously been acquainted with. It had showed its face once more, fully healed and its leg attached again, though as a whole the bear seemed to have grown much larger and with that, even more powerful. Sango had concluded that the spirit of the house must have fed it more energy to make it stronger since it had failed before. It had grown to more than five times the size of Kirara's large form. 

The youkai had become wilder, more violent, and was particularly interested in attacking the females among them as well. Was it looking for weak victims or was there another reason? They were not sure, but for everyone's best interest, the boys had split into two parties; one group to protect the girls that needed it and the other to try their best in taking down the demon as they attacked it—or at least, _attempted_ to.

Since Miroku's wind tunnel was of no use because of the constant escaping, he used himself as a distraction and moved to lure the demon this way and that and away from the others so they could try to attack from behind. He had to be quick and dodge easily to avoid being caught; he was already bleeding heavily from failed attempts and despite his best efforts, it was not going well.

The demon was understandably cautious of Kurama and his rose whip. Obviously, it remembered how the weapon had kept the youkai down during their previous encounter. The bear demon avoided the fox at all costs; it fled, escaping through a wall, only to come back through another wall, the ceiling, or even the floor when Kurama so much as flicked the whip at it. Finally Inuyasha had shouted at the fox to put his weapon away because the demon running around in a craze was not helping.

As Kurama withdrew from their offensive group and instead went back to help protect the demon's targets, Sango threw her hiraikotsu low to the ground, causing the demon to jump to avoid and Hiei took the opportunity to attack it quickly while it was in midair. Knowing that the fur was extremely thick and almost impenetrable, Hiei attacked the most sensitive spot he could find; he went for the eyes.

The fire demon swung his sword at one of the three eyes and hit his mark, damaging the pupil. The youkai roared in pain and landed flatteringly back on his feet with a force that shook the room. It swatted blindly at Hiei, but he only jumped away from the mighty paws that had nearly knocked him out last time.

The bear demon shook with rage and seemed to draw in upon itself as it brought its body to be as small as possibly. The aura around the youkai darkened before a pulse of power rolled off it and slammed in to everyone in the room, effectively knocking them off their feet. Then without warning, it opened its mouth wide and displayed its newest ability as a lightning blast grew in its mouth.

"Hit the deck!" Kagome heard someone yell, though she could only assume it was Yusuke. Before she had time to turn her head to look, she was being scooped off the floor by Inuyasha, who swung her onto his back. Her arms tightened instinctively around his neck to keep her from falling as he suddenly leapt into the air as streaks of lightning shot around the room in every direction.

Shippo squeaked and threw up his hands to protect himself from an oncoming blast even while knowing what little help it would do, when he was abruptly picked up and lifted into the air, courtesy of Inuyasha, as he dashed by. Sango swung herself onto Kirara's back before holding a hand out to Miroku to help him on in back of her. Her hand shot out once more, grabbing Yukina and taking her up into the air to keep a blast from hitting her as Kirara rose upward, while at the same time Botan materialized her oar and hopped on.

After its attack had subsided, the demon dashed into one of the walls and merged with it. An eerie quiet consumed the room when the demon left and they waited, ready to fight. Botan circled the room from the air, searching for any sign of the demon as Kirara and her passengers did the same. The rest anxiously waited on the ground, eyes darting all around for nowhere was safe.

After long minutes of waiting, most of them let their guard down and let some of the tension escape them. The demon had a habit of disappearing for days after it had been injured and Hiei's slash to its eye had hurt it badly.

Kagome waved her arms up at Sango to get her attention. "See anything up there?"

While Kirara had let the other passengers off, Sango remained on the neko's back as they stayed close to the ceiling in the ridiculously large room, gazing down from above. The demon exterminator shook her head in response, then realizing she might not be able to see it, called down, "no. No sign of it."

But before Sango knew what was happening, she was suddenly knocked off Kirara with a powerful blow. A cold feeling spread throughout her as she grasped for the neko to hold onto, but could not reach. She was falling, spiraling downward toward the floor and could do nothing to stop her descent. A cry of her name found her ears, but it was far too late.

Then abruptly she was being caught—no, tackled midair and Sango and the other person tumbled the last few feet together to the ground. Wisps of blue hair filled her vision and she felt the end of an oar digging into her side.

"Botan?" she asked, somewhat dumbfounded. A happy "bingo!" met her ears. "What happened?"

"Tch, that damned demon showed up for one last punch and swatted you and Kirara outta the air from the ceiling," Inuyasha explained. He held Kirara in his arms; he must have gone after her just as Botan had caught Sango.

But as the group focused their attention on Sango and Kirara, they failed to notice the demon as it silently reappeared behind Yusuke. Its jaws opened as a lightning blast built in its mouth, the air around the demon crackling with power. Keiko was the only to notice as it was happening. The others would react too late.

Her eyes widened. "Yusuke!"

She saw him begin to turn, but it was not enough. The blast had already been sent. While her mind was screaming different thoughts to her, thoughts of terror, thoughts of dread, her heart told her only one thing.

Adrenaline ran through her as Keiko ran to him with all she had, her heart pounding against her chest so hard that she could hear the drumming in her ears. With speed and strength she had never possessed before, she pushed him to the floor and out of the way just in time to save him—and got hit in his stead.

The blast surged straight through her, but she uttered not a scream nor sound as Yusuke slid across the floor. Her eyes were wide with pain as the air crackled around her and her body stood taut and arched. Finally the lightning subsided and she fell to the ground. She lay on her side, unmoving.

Yusuke lifted himself up off the floor and regarded her with worried eyes that then darted to the demon as they filled with anger and hatred. His hands clenched into fists. The youkai had hurt Keiko and now… now he would die.

As the Spirit Detective's eyes met with the two eyes left of the demon, the bear understood exactly what Yusuke intended. Yet for once, it did not run away and instead accepted the challenge in Yusuke's rage-filled eyes.

"_SPIRIT GUN_!"

A blinding attack shot out from Yusuke's index finger, forming a blast so huge, so power, it surrounded the demon entirely. The bear youkai cried out in pain, but did not flee or move from its spot though it seemed to be trying to move. As Yusuke watched, the entire being was disintegrated until only ashes remained.

He did not honor the demon's ashes with another glance and instead ran to Keiko's side. He tentatively reached out and touched her shoulder ever so gently, more gentle than he had touched anything in his entire life.

She did not respond and only fell onto her back, vacant eyes staring upward. Yusuke whispered her name, his voice barely audible, but she would not return his call.

She was dead.

He could feel the eyes of the others on him, but he did not care. He knew what they were thinking and it was not true. It couldn't be.

"Keiko," he said. "Keiko, wake up." _She's unconscious_, Yusuke thought,_ If I could just wake her up…_He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Kuwabara.

He wanted to look away when he saw the blank, yet helpless look in Yusuke's eyes. His grip on his friend's shoulder tightened. Tears threatened to come into Kuwabara's eyes as he said quietly, "she's dead, Yusuke."

His fingers curling into a fist, Yusuke spun around as he got to his feet and slammed Kuwabara into the nearest wall. His hands were fisted in Kuwabara's shirt, lifting him up off the ground, as his eyes took on a murderous look.

"She is **NOT** dead!"

His words echoed throughout the silent room, mocking him as they met his ears once more. His head bowed and his fists shook as they grasped his friend. Kuwabara reached out a hand to place on his shoulder once more, but immediately dropped it away, shocked, as Yusuke's head shot up again.

Tears were welled in his eyes, sliding silently and shamelessly down his face.

Just as abruptly as Yusuke grabbed him, he let Kuwabara go as he realized what exactly he was doing. No one dared make a sound as he stormed out of the room.

Kuwabara felt himself slump against the wall, the energy draining out of him. He stared down at where Keiko lay a few feet ahead of him and felt numb. How could she…? Just that morning, had she not been so happy, so carefree, so… _lively_? Where was that smile now? The laughter, the teasing, the worried glances she had given Yusuke when she was sure he was not looking. Where had Keiko gone? Could she really be…

A soft jingle was heard as Miroku walked forward, the rings of his staff swaying and colliding as he moved. Blood stained half his clothes and he walked with a limp, but he did not seem to notice or care as he knelt beside the still girl's form. With some effort, he lifted the body up into his arms.

"We will have to bury her," he said softly.

His words broke whatever spell of numbness had been woven upon them. A sob tore the silence to pieces as Botan brought her knees to her chest and hid her face in her arms, her body violently shaking as she cried.

A sadness engulfed Sango, but it was nothing compared to what the others must have been feeling. She found herself glancing momentarily at Hiei, but he had eyes only for Yukina as she knelt in despair while the soft patter of her tears as gems fell to the ground echoed around her. Sango tore her gaze away.

Shippo found comfort in Kagome's arms, his face buried in her chest and she clutched him to her unconsciously. The miko felt numb as she slid down to the floor with the kitsune in her arms, unable to believe what had happened.

Abruptly she stood up, willing herself not to fall to pieces, and said quietly, "I know where."

* * *

With a heavy heart and faltering steps, Kagome led those who were willing to follow to the small portion of the house that lead outside to a small garden. The surroundings were eerily quiet; no birds would sing their songs nor were there animals of any kind around. The pond water was utterly still with nothing lurking in its depths. 

They spread out in search, though Kagome called to the rest when she found a particularly large oak tree. It was there that they began to dig, underneath the tree's comforting shade. It was a long, grueling process but none said a word until the grave was finally finished.

It was Miroku who placed her gently in it and Keiko was buried peacefully under the earth, beneath the shadow cast down by the tree. Kagome had taken the liberty of carving her name into a rock and placed it at the base of the oak, while Miroku performed a small ceremony. Each person said his or her last respects, except for Hiei who watched everything with respected silence.

Yusuke was no where in sight.

* * *

He stood over the grave, alone. Utterly alone. 

They had left awhile ago after having worked so hard to let her have peace, but he had not been there. He did not want to accept the fact that she was dead. But how could he deny it when the evidence was right in front of him?

The breeze picked up, rustling his clothes and throwing his hair about, though he took no notice. The wind made the tears on his face seem colder and it dried them against his cheeks, though a few still made there to the ground, making tiny droplets on the tousled earth of her grave.

He should be the one dead, not her. That blast was meant for him and if she had not saved him, he would have died. Unless the house had known how she would react… No, it was him, not her, _him_ that was supposed to be lying in that grave. Or maybe the blast would not have even killed him.

His left hand turned into a fist. Damn! Why did she have to do a stupid thing like that? Baka Keiko! She had no right to push him out of the way like that! That blast was for him and him alone. Why did she even care what happened to him!

But she believed in him, loved him, trusted him, and wanted him to help the rest escape the clutches of the house. That foolish, innocent, wonderful girl.

There was an aching in his heart that would not go away, that even the slightest thought of her brought the stabbing pain back. He closed his eyes, trying to stop the tears from coming, but they squeezed out from under his closed lids anyway. Fighting a losing battle, he opened his eyes once more to reveal blurred vision.

Memories of her floated in his head, of conversations previous and the way he always teased her, and the slaps he received for them. The thoughts haunted him but one thing haunted him especially and might forever. Those three little words that he never got to tell her that he should have.

Yusuke let the lily he held in his hand drop, letting it glide slowly onto the grave below while he whispered softly the words he should have told her before.

"Love you too."

* * *

The day passed with an agonizing slowness as dreaded thoughts tore at them. Although the group usually would have gathered in the common room as they usually did, the place held an all too painful memory, for that had been the sight of her death. Instead, Miroku had slipped into one of the side-rooms and the others had followed. 

Kagome sat on the couch with her legs drawn up and her cheek resting on her knee. Her face was turned away from the rest, unable to bear to see some of them cry as they were unable to stop their tears, and a helpless feeling lay upon her. But her sorrow was nothing compared to what Yusuke must have been feeling.

Yusuke… What would he do now? Would he give up because Keiko was gone? Or would he continue to fight in her memory? Keiko was one of the few things Yusuke seemed to care about. What would he do now that she was gone?

Her thoughts came to a halt as the object of her musings was suddenly standing in the doorway. His face was expressionless, but when she looked closer she could see the tracks of his tears. He moved further into the room and Kagome slid to the side to make room for him to sit down. He flopped down on the couch, his head down and his hair tousled, hanging down over his eyes so they were no longer visible.

The silence became thicker when even the ones crying tried to quiet themselves. All was quiet until Shizuru spoke.

"One down," the others heard her say.

"What?" Yusuke asked sharply, his head snapping upward to look angrily at her.

Shizuru was not looking at him though; her attention was turned elsewhere. At some point during the silence she had gotten up and walked partially away from the group, having seen something. Now in her hand she held a stone tablet that held the next message from the house on it.

"That's what this says, 'one down'," Shizuru read, then quietly added, "I guess this is the house's next message."

Yusuke was on his feet and was in front of Shizuru in a flash, yanking the tablet out of her hands. He took it and slammed it into the ground where it shattered into hundreds of fragmented pieces. Shizuru stepped away with surprise as her arms folded across her stomach in an almost protective gesture.

Yusuke looked up at the ceiling, his face full of fury and his body trembling with it. "Do you think this is some fucking game? Our lives are just yours to toy with? Just kill us one by one until we're too broken to even try to stop you anymore? Well fuck that, there's no way I'm going to let you kill us all!"

He yelled until his voice was hoarse and tears streamed down his face, but he would not stop. Botan timidly walked over to him and put a gentle hand on his forearm, though as soon as he felt the touch he whirled around about to strike whoever had touched him. Botan flinched, but did not let go. As muddled as his head and emotions were, he might have struck her, but the tears that slid down her face made him freeze. The touch was supposed to be one of comfort, but Yusuke just looked back up at the room's ceiling and continued to scream.

"Keiko thought I'd be able to get us all out of here, she believed in me, and by God, I swear I will!"

He turned abruptly and stormed out, small droplets falling to the floor in his path. Botan followed the trail of tears silently, deciding that she should not leave the boy alone. Who knew what violent action he might commit? Kagome quickly got to her feet as well and followed the blue-haired deity.

No one else dared to move after Yusuke's outburst. Even Hiei, who held hardly any compassion toward others, kept his silence in respect of his companion's loss.

* * *

The death was a hard and unexpected blow that each dealt with in their own way. The threat had not seemed real before, but everything had changed. One of them was dead and any of them could be next. Most, however, were just focused on the fact that one of them, a dear friend, was gone. 

Yukina sat with Kuwabara on the floor in his room, crying into his chest while he spoke words of nonsense as he attempted to sooth her. Meanwhile, he himself felt tears prickling in his own eyes. Soft tapping could be heard on the floor as her tear gems fell from her eyes, non-stopping.

Shizuru sat alone in the room after everyone else had drifted away. Eyes closed, she sat heavily in the corner, her head leaning back against the wall. She brought the cigarette to her mouth with a trembling hand and took a shaky breath inward while tears squeezed out of her closed eyes. The door opened and Miroku came in, but she did not open her eyes. Silently he sat across from her, sharing in the stillness of the room.

Inuyasha watched through his window as the sun set, Shippo at his side with Kirara curled up in a tight ball. All stayed quiet as they just watched the sun slowly sink, leaving them in darkness.

Sango found herself in Hiei's room, leaning against the door with her eyes closed as she breathed deeply in and out again. Hiei, like Inuyasha, watched the darkness outside his window. Sango had denied herself the company of all others, wanting to be alone, yet here she found herself, hating the pain she felt. She turned her sorrow into rage, directing it toward the fire demon. They argued as she leaned against his door until a truly offensive comment came from him. She stalked over to the demon, intending fully to punch or slap him, but suddenly found herself kissing him instead. The passion made her forget her pain and although this time she recognized the desire, she let it consume her, as all her troubles melted away when she fell into his embrace.

Kagome and Botan followed the sounds of banging to find Yusuke in his room, his fist punching the wall. He punched it over and over again, either ignoring the pain it caused him or not feeling it at all. His hand had become bloody as his fist was repeatedly struck. Botan rushed to his side and tried to make him stop as she put a hand on his arm. He glared at her, but she only hugged him tightly in response. It was then that he finally let his shields down; he started crying silently and they both slid down, falling into a heap on the floor. Kagome slowly knelt beside them, feeling slightly out of place. She had not known Keiko like they had, only having known her since they had arrived at this demonic, possessed house. But then Yusuke was hugging her too and she felt the tears threatening to come as she hugged him back.

Looking up at the crying boy that held her, she thought about love. Did she really want to end up like him? Crying on the floor, broken down, because her love was gone? Or was it already too late for her?

And while she thought about it, Sango's words came back to her.

_This is reality. You love, you get hurt, but you'll love again. Love is not always pretty, but it's something you have to deal with. You have to love just like you have to hate. You have to love and hate to live. Otherwise, you've never lived. _

* * *

A polite knock came on Kurama's door and he felt himself frown slightly as he slowly made his way over and opened it. After what had happened today, who would be knocking on his door? 

Kagome stood on the other side, leaning heavily on the doorway, her brown eyes shining with unshed tears as she regarded the fox in front of her. Her body felt heavy, her heart; even heavier. She was mentally and physically exhausted, wanting nothing more to crawl up into a bed and to cry and never stop, burrowing herself under the covers to make all the pain go away. But that was only a fantasy and she had to deal with reality.

"Kagome," he said, surprised, wondering why she was there. She looked like she needed comfort very badly and he wondered why she had not gone to Inuyasha, who would have gladly comforted her at a time like this.

Her eyes closed for a second and she took a shaky breath in, then opened them again to meet Kurama's emerald eyes. "I've been thinking some things over," Kagome said, "and I don't want to end up like they did."

"End up like who?" Kurama inquired. He motioned her inside, but she shook her head, still leaning on the frame.

"Don't interrupt me. If I'm going to say this, I need to say it all at once," Kagome said taking another deep, shaky breath in while Kurama nodded. She continued, "I don't want to end up like Keiko and Yusuke. They loved each other, but when they finally expressed their feelings it was too late. It's time to face the facts. Any of us can die now, any of us could be next. Saying that it's not true is denying the inevitable. And I don't want to die, or want you to die, without expressing how I feel. I don't want one of us to die not knowing what could have been, what we could have had." She reached up a trembling hand to his cheek, while the hot tears began to stream down her face. "I don't want to have to regret never knowing your touch because I was afraid of what might happen or what I might feel."

With that she fell into his embrace, kicking the door shut behind her.

* * *

**AN:** If you read the summary or the second chapter, you'd know the house gave the message 'No one gets out alive'. Did you really think everyone would live throughout the entire fic! (Which means others will be dying as well.) But to avoid any flames, I'll say just one sentence. 

Things aren't always as they seem.

So don't stop reading if I happen to kill one of your favorite characters. Sometimes the dead don't stay buried. But remember, I make no promises.


	19. Confusion Illusion

**_Deadly Games _**

**Chapter Nineteen: Confusion Illusion **

* * *

Kagome woke up feeling completely content and carefree. Her mind did not yet remember the events of yesterday, but her body knew who was lying next to her. She was on her side with Kurama behind her, his body molded against hers and his arms encircling her waist, hugging her close. His face was buried in her hair and he nuzzled his head against her hair, making her giggle.

He had held her all night long, since the moment she closed the door until that morning. The scent of roses was everywhere, on the sheets and on him, enveloping her and she smiled contently. The smell was soothing and she was wallowing in it.

She turned around in his arms and kissed him softly, trying to wake him up. He began returning the kiss, indicating that he had indeed woken up, though he protested slightly when she moved away.

"You have to let go of me now, so I can take a bath," she told him, though his only response was to tighten his hold on her.

Playfully, he buried his face into her neck and with his lips against her skin, told her, "you smell fine to me."

Kagome laughed as she felt his warm breath tickle her neck. "Yes, but I need to wash your scent off me before—"

That was as far as she got before Kurama began to kiss the place where her neck met her shoulder. His kisses were moist and she felt his warm tongue slide across her skin, causing her to moan as her heartbeat sped up and her hands searched for something, anything to hold on to.

He flipped her over so that her back lay on the bed and she was beneath him as he continued to kiss the spot on her neck. Her breath quickened as he did so and she shuddered against him. He bit down gently, then stroked his tongue over the part he bit, causing her to arch her back and her nails dug into the bed sheets as another sound of pleasure escaped her, as though it was long awaited. He trailed the moist kisses up her neck again and finally lifted his head up to meet her eyes, his own filled with a longing and desire.

He smiled slyly and said huskily, "looks like I finally found your soft spot."

She might have laughed, but the intense look of passion in his eyes made any laughter that would have come die on her lips. He brought his lips down to meet hers and merely brushed his lips against hers before lifting his head up again. She however brought her head up and caught his lips again, bringing her hands to the back of his neck to keep him there. Her fingers slid under his hair, brushing gently against the nape of his neck, where she began to slowly trace circles with one fingertip. In effect, he gasped and ended up falling on top of her. She circled her arms around his back and kept him there when he tried to get up.

Just two days ago, she would have felt guilty of doing anything with Kurama, but she had finally realized that she wanted him, needed him to make her happy. She had not wanted to admit it before, but Inuyasha was not hers and never would be. Inuyasha was devoted to Kikyo even if she happened to be dead; she could not shake his loyalty to her. So why should she feel guilty when Inuyasha was not hers in any way? Kurama… he honestly wanted to be with her and her, with him.

He cradled the side of her face in his hand as he kissed her passionately, deeply, needing to feel her lips. She returned his eagerness, lost in the passion of the moment. Then abruptly he broke the kiss and rolled off her, onto his feet.

She looked at him as a lost puppy might, her face full of small uncertainty after he moved away from her.

"If we go any farther we might not be able to stop. I suggest you take your bath now," he told her, moving away.

Dazed, she nodded and left the room, but as soon as she left, the events of yesterday came crashing down on her and thoughts of Keiko came back to her. Tears long dried from the previous night threatened to come back when her mind thought back on her departed friend. Brushing a few tears away, she went to her room to gather some clothes for after her bath.

She had a feeling it was going to be a very long day.

* * *

A week passed and slowly things turned back to normal, though the pain was still there and Yusuke was quieter than normal. Caution was taken with every step they took, just waiting for something else to happen, anything else, but all was still in the house of horrors. 

Tension was high as they sat in the common room with only light conversation going on, especially when Yusuke was nearby. He was a time bomb waiting to go off. The next demon that tried to come after them had better beware for Yusuke would be as bad as a psychotic serial killer when he found something he would be able to destroy. Until then, the walls were getting a heavy beating.

Kagome continued to meet in secret with Kurama during the night, usually outside by the pond they had their first kiss by. Inuyasha had not figured anything out yet, but everyday she worried about what might happen when he did. Though that usually ended in angry thoughts. Why should she care what Inuyasha thought? It was not like they ever had anything more than friendship.

Kagome, not able to take the tension anymore, abruptly got up and left, heading for one place she knew she might be able to do something useful, Miya's room. Sango followed her out, having a feeling she knew where Kagome was going and knew Kagome should not be going there alone. No one should be going anywhere alone. Although, Sango also did not want to be in the same room with Hiei, but leaving him behind, that was just an added bonus.

Sango could not understand it. One moment she would be yelling and arguing with him, full of rage and hate. Then in the next, she would be kissing him with such intense desire, that she felt the world might come to an end right there. Why did she feel this way? Sango did not love him, she could not. Then why was she drawn to him so? Why couldn't she just stay away from the fire demon? She hated him! Hated everything about him! He was annoying and arrogant… and she could not stand him! Then why… why was she lured to his bedroom at night?

She wanted to cry about it, yell about it, tell someone about it, do _something_ about it, but she could not. If she told Kagome, would she be disgusted with Sango? Disgusted with the things she did with someone she claimed to loathe? When had her life turned into such misery?

_But I'm not miserable when I'm with him,_ she thought shamefully_, just when I'm without._

Kagome reached the door to Miya's room and began to turn the handle when she hit an invisible barrier and she flew back a few feet, tumbling to the floor.

Sango glanced down at the fallen girl. "So the house doesn't want us in there anymore."

"You think!" Kagome grumbled while getting up off the ground before Sango could offer a hand up.

"That looked like it hurt," Inuyasha teased from behind them.

Both girls whirled around to see everyone else coming their way, including Yusuke.

"We figured you two would get into trouble if left alone and we were looking for something to end the boredom," Miroku said, explaining their presence.

Sango folded her arms over her chest. "We're big girls. We can take care of ourselves," she told them dryly.

"Hn," Hiei said, disbelievingly. Sango glared at him with hate-filled eyes, which he returned.

"I just want to fight something," Yusuke said, then angrily, "I can take anything they throw at me!"

Just then the floor began to cave in beneath them, dropping half of them down an abyss. Inuyasha was first to fall through, the floor opening right where he had been standing while Kagome with Shippo in her arms, grabbed onto Kurama as both fell. Yusuke plummeted down next and Kuwabara was right on the edge, flailing his arms about, until he too fell.

Sango was about to drop into the hole in the floor until Kirara grabbed onto the back of her shirt with her teeth, dragging her back, away from the hole, while Sango murmured her thanks.

Hiei jumped across the gap, catching Yukina just before she descended into darkness with the others, and put her gently on the other side. Sango watched him save her and felt a surge of jealousy go through her. Realizing what it was she was feeling, she told herself firmly that she was _not_ jealous.

The others gathered around the hole, looking down into it, then exchanged a glance. Miroku shrugged, and he and the rest that were left behind continued on. They were not able to do anything for the ones that fell and could only hope that they were still alright. Though it seemed the house was only playing with them, like it always was.

They walked on and Sango dropped back to talk to Hiei. He was trailing far behind everyone else and so she knew their conversation would not be overheard.

"You're awfully protective of Yukina," Sango said to Hiei. Was that a trace of bitterness in her voice?

He gave her a look. "She's my sister, baka."

Now why had he told her that? He had never admitted it to anyone before. The ones who knew had found out through Koenma with the exception of Kurama. So why had he told her willingly? And it had made her feel at ease, too. Now why would he go and want to do something like that?

"Your sister?" she said doubtfully, looking from the koorime to the fire demon, though relieved at the same time. "How did that happen?"

"Demons mate, must I spell it out for you?" he said, annoyance in his voice. He did not like to talk about his family. It could have been because of the whole being thrown of a cliff thing when he was a baby and the fact that he was the Forbidden Child. _Yeah, that _might_ have been it_, he thought sarcastically.

She blushed and dropped the subject, going over to walk with Miroku, although she was not sure how wise that was. Just being within five feet of Miroku could be a very bad thing if the person was a girl.

"Come to walk with me now, I see," Miroku commented.

She glared at him. "Even with your perverted nature, Miroku, you're safer than the demon over there," Sango told him, knowing Hiei would hear.

The hallway abruptly ended, leading to one large door. A look was exchanged between the group, followed by a bunch of shrugs as they all trooped inside the room. Once they were all in the small room, the door disappeared behind them.

"I hate when it does that," Botan muttered.

The room was quite small and it just managed to fit all seven inside. There were no other exits and no windows; they were just in a small box. Fortunately, none of them were claustrophobic.

Blue writing began to form on the wall in front of them, opposite where the door had been before it had mysteriously disappeared. Yukina, who was in front, read it out loud.

"'The beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, the beginning of every end, and the end of any place'," she said with a slight frown as she considered the riddle. Just as soon as she finished reading, the riddle faded from view, just leaving the dull wall.

"Good thing the baka is not here or his head might explode if he tried to think too much," Hiei commented from the back of the room.

"E," Shizuru said.

"Is a letter, very good," Sango said sarcastically, as though she were praising a five-year-old who did something right.

"Speaking random letters of the alphabet, are we now?" Miroku asked, one eyebrow raised.

"No, you idiot. That's the answer to the riddle. Eternity begins with 'e' and so does end, and the rest of those words ended with e," Shizuru explained as she ran a hand through her hair. "It's simple, really."

"I wonder sometimes if you and your brother were born from the same parents," Hiei told her while she smiled.

"Yeah, he can be a real half-wit sometimes," Shizuru said with a shrug.

"So we know the answer is 'e', now what?" Yukina asked, ignoring their comments about Kuwabara.

The wall in front of them crumbled to the floor in a pile of dirt, although before Sango was sure the wall had been made of cement. The house seemed to be able to change anything it wanted to. With a smile, Yukina walked through first into the darkness of the next room.

That's when they heard a shrill scream.

* * *

Kagome groaned as she began to regain consciousness. Her head was throbbing, meaning she probably hit it when she landed in… where was she again? She glanced around seeing that she was in the basement with the others around her, though only Kuwabara and Yusuke were awake yet. 

The six of them were on a solid white box made up of tiles. Each tile was about a foot in height and width and the six of them were on a box made up of ten tiles in height and width, making it a grand total of one hundred white tiles that they were on. Beside for what they stood on, the entire room was made up of tiles of all different colors, set down randomly on the floor.

"Hey," she called softly to Yusuke and Kuwabara in greeting and both nodded in acknowledgement toward her. Strangely enough though, each had a small, secretive smile on their face that they were trying to hide.

She sat up, rubbing her head, but immediately realized there was an arm draped across her waist, Kurama's arm. She then recalled jumping into his embrace as they fell.

Kagome jumped away from the fox, making his arm fall to the floor and she began blushing furiously. It's not that she minded him touching her in such ways. No, she enjoyed being with Kurama quite a lot. It was the fact that they were _trying_ to keep their relationship a secret that made her blush and move away.

Kuwabara began outright laughing at her reaction while Yusuke smiled. It was not long ago Yusuke would have laughed hysterical just as Kuwabara was, but that was before… He was still healing after Keiko's death.

"I'm glad you find me entertaining," she grumbled to them, annoyed.

"We wanted Inuyasha to wake first and freak out when he saw you two," Kuwabara told her between laughs.

She tensed, wondering what Inuyasha would have done if he had seen them. He would have definitely "freaked out", but would he have gotten violent? Just thinking about it was stressing, but she kept her face as expressionless as she could.

Not too soon after, the rest of the six, Inuyasha, Kurama, and Shippo, woke up. Inuyasha was speaking some quite colorful curses while Shippo began blinking, in a clueless sort of way, and Kurama only sat up, fully alert.

"So what's up with these colored tiles?" Kagome asked the two who had been awake longer.

Yusuke moved away from where he was sitting, showing three gaps in the floor where three tiles had probably been before.

"We tried to walk on them, but they fell after a few seconds," Yusuke explained.

"So what are we suppose to do?" Inuyasha asked, irritated, "run really fast?"

"But if one of us runs, then it leaves less tiles for the next person to walk on, and so on down the line until there's not many left for the last person," Kurama pointed out.

"What colors did you try?" Kagome asked, curiously.

"What?" Kuwabara asked, dumbfounded.

"Well, maybe not all the colors will fall. What colors did you try to walk on?" Kagome repeated.

Yusuke and Kuwabara exchanged a look. "Blue, maybe yellow…?"

"No, there was definitely a pink one… or was it red…?"

They began arguing back and forth until Shippo jumped up and hit Kuwabara over the head.

"Ow!" Kuwabara said, rubbing his head. "What was that for?"

"For being an idiot," Shippo explained in a matter-of-fact tone.

"How about we all just try a different color," Kagome suggested.

"Sounds logical enough," Kurama said as he gave her a warm smile that she returned.

Abruptly, she turned away, remembering that there were other people just a few feet away from them. Each one of them took a different colored block and cautiously put one foot on it, while the other was firmly on the white blocks that held their weight. Each block held for a few moments, then fell, disappearing into oblivion. Kagome then tried a pink block and it held. Warily, she put her other foot on it, squeezing her eyes shut as she did, waiting for it to fall, but it did not.

"The pink tiles work," she told the others, as she turned around on the block.

"Does it have to be such a girly color?" Kuwabara whined. He walked onto another pink tile, but abruptly it sunk into the black abyss.

Kagome laughed slightly, telling him, "obviously, the house agrees with you."

Kurama, using that intelligent brain of his, tried a blue block, and it held his weight.

"Of course! Blue for boys and pink for girls!" Shippo exclaimed as he jumped onto a blue one.

They all jumped from one block to another, Kagome only going on the pink ones, while the guys only jumped to the blue. After they jumped from one to the next, the block faded and fell, showing that each one could only be used once. This was fine with Kagome, since there were no other girls to have to share the tiles with, but the guys were having trouble. Shippo was on Inuyasha's shoulder so that he did not waste any tiles, and Inuyasha jumped farther distances, still being able to land gracefully on blue tiles.

It was also hard for the humans among them to keep their balance since each block was not that wide and the longer jumps were especially difficult, but they managed.

Kagome slipped once and fell forward with her hands supporting herself, but they landed on different color tiles and she started to fall, but Kagome quickly got back up before she lost her balance and fell through.

They hopped from one tile to the next, trying their best not to fall. Kagome began to laugh as she did so.

"I feel like a dancer performing some kind of difficult routine," she said, explaining her laughter, as she leapt to the next one.

She saw Kurama smile, while Inuyasha just said a "feh". Yusuke laughed slightly and Kagome felt glad. She had hardly heard him laugh since Keiko had past away, and anything she could do within reason to make him feel better was alright with her.

The multi-colored tiles stretched on for awhile, but they finally made it to the other side. Kagome laughed joyfully as she finally jumped onto the normal cement floor of the basement where Inuyasha and Shippo were waiting for the rest.

"Kagome!" Shippo yelled as he launched himself at Kagome, who caught him mostly out of instinct.

When everyone was rejoined again, they walked through the basement, looking for stairs that would lead upstairs again. They were in a long, dark hallway when suddenly a bright light came in front of them.

Everyone watched in shock as Keiko shimmered into existence in front of them.


	20. Hold On

**_Deadly Games _**

**Chapter Twenty: Hold On **

* * *

The area in front of them shimmered and the air seemed to split as though a knife had cut through it. From the rift, Keiko appeared. Her whole body shone was an unnatural, heavenly-seeming light as smiled at her friends. To Yusuke, she beckoned him forward and held out her arms, as though she were waiting for someone to embrace her.

Yusuke, eyes wide with amazement, started toward her in a dazed-like state. Her name, filled with wonderment and confusion fell off his lips as he slowly walked toward her.

Something was wrong though. Kagome had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. She moved Shippo from her arms to her shoulder, while she stepped in front of Yusuke. She put her hands on his shoulders to stop him.

"She's dead, Yusuke."

He pushed her away violently and Kagome stumbled backward. She almost crashed into the floor, but Kurama caught her just in time and helped her to her feet once more. His eyes went from Yusuke and back to Kagome.

Inuyasha growled at Yusuke and grabbed his arms to halt him. That thing was not Keiko. Usually spirits had no scent, but this one smelt of mostly demon, which meant this was just another one of the house's tricks.

Yusuke fought him, trying to get free, but Inuyasha held on painfully tight, keeping him from going to whatever "thing" was pretending to be Keiko.

"She's gone, Yusuke. That's not her," Shippo told him.

Yusuke tried to fight Inuyasha, moving violently around in his grip, but he finally gave up, realizing that their words were true. Keiko was dead, after dying to save him. He went slack in Inuyasha's grip, no longer trying to go after "Keiko".

The thing that pretended to be Keiko grew angry when Yusuke stopped going forward. The bright light that surrounded her turned to a darker atmosphere, turning Keiko's looks into something demonic. Then it changed altogether, dropping the Keiko act and showed them its true form.

A blue-skinned demon with red pools for eyes stood in front of them. There were no white in its eyes, only red, a blood red. Its nails turned from human ones to razor sharp and it came running closer about to attack them, when it suddenly stopped. It cocked its head to the side, as though it heard something, though there was nothing to be heard to the others. It then shimmered out halfway through its attack, disappearing just as it had appeared, although this time it kept its true form.

"What was that about?" Kuwabara asked, but no one had an answer.

* * *

That's when they heard a shrill scream.

Hiei was the first out. He used his demon speed to race out of the room before anyone else, but he hit a barrier and fell backward. He was up again in a split second, banging against the barrier with his sword. The rest rushed out of the room behind him and looked in horror at what they saw.

A blue-skinned, red-eyed demon held Yukina as though they were supposed to be an audience for a show. The demon held her with one arm snaked around her waist, long nails pressing into her skin. The other hand was over her mouth so she would not scream again while at the same time it tilted her head to the side. A shimmering blue barrier was erected around them, making it impossible to get to them, but they could be seen inside just fine.

Yukina still tried to scream and tried to use her ice powers against the demon, but they did not work on him. He only laughed at her pathetic attempt and at the attempts the others were making to get to the koorime.

Sango tried to use her hiraikotsu on him, but it reflected off the barrier and back at her and she had to jump to dodge it. Botan banged fists against it while Shizuru tried to kick it, though both were thrown back every time they touched it. Miroku attempted to use the spells he had against evil on the barrier, but they were weak compared to the demon's power. Kirara changed to her larger form and body-slammed the obstruction, but like the other attacks, it did not work.

Hiei tried the hardest to get through, becoming a black blur to the human eye, as he slashed continuously at the barrier to no prevail. He could only watch in dread at what happened next.

The demon had tilted her head to the side, leaving her neck bare and unprotected. He lowered his head down and bit down hard on her flesh as Yukina continued to struggle, her eyes becoming wide with pain. If the demon had fangs it might have hurt slightly less, but the demon had normal human teeth and it hurt like hell. The demon continued to bite until he drew blood from her skin and then lifted his head up to met eyes with Hiei's, whose eyes held a murderous glint, while the demon's were taunting him.

The demon's eyes looked down at Yukina's neck where the blood was beginning to flow. He put his lips to just above the wound and began to suck in the air just above it. A blue light appeared around Yukina, her life's energy, and the demon began to suck in the blue-colored air around her. It went from her into his body, and the blue light began to surround him instead. He was taking away her life force and that could only mean… he was going to kill her.

"No!" Hiei yelled. "No!"

He slammed into the barrier with all his might, but not even a dent was formed. He then transferred his energy into his sword and swung it at the barrier. A tiny crack appeared in the barrier which made the blue-skinned demon pause. His eyes widened after feeling Hiei's power, but then he went back to Yukina and began to take in her energy faster than before as she began to fall limp in his arms.

His Jagan shown through the bandana as he drew power from it, transferring the energy into his sword and in result, the other effects of the Jagan were triggered and Yukina's thoughts came to him as he continued to hack at the barrier.

_Weak… so lightheaded… Kazuma, where…? I'm sorry I did not get to say goodbye to him… and I know he'll blame himself if I die, but it's not his fault. I love you, Kazuma, wherever you are…_

Hiei hit the barrier harder than ever now as her thoughts still came. Yukina realized how hard Hiei was trying to get in and thought, _Sorry Hiei… You always protected me… and I don't even know why… I wish I could thank you for all you've done for me… I think I expected dying to hurt more than this… I hope you all make it out of this house. I believe in you Yusuke, you'll keep that promise to Keiko. I wonder if I'll meet Keiko now… and maybe mother too… I never did find my brother… I regret that… I regret not being able to tell Kazuma I love him one last time… I regret leaving the rest behind… Please, make it out of this house alive…_

She a silent goodbye and Hiei felt a sharp pain in his cold heart when he heard her think his name. He wanted more than anything for her not to let go, to hold on, but he could feel her slipping away a little more with each second that passed by.

Multiple cracks were spread all throughout the barrier and with one last swing of his sword, the barrier began to crack all the way throughout and shattered just the way ice would. He then realized that was what Yukina had been doing with her power. After it proved no effect on the demon, she worked on making the barrier ice so that it was easier to get through. Would it be too late?

Hiei rushed through and into the barrier, just as the demon dropped Yukina to the floor. In the next moment, Hiei made one fluid motion with his sword and the demon's head was rolling across the floor while the body fell with a thump to the ground.

Then in a second, Hiei was at Yukina's side, lifting her slightly off the ground in his arms, but it was too late. There was no energy left within her, all her life energy gone, taken by the now dead demon. Heavy footsteps made their way over to Yukina and Hiei and Sango fell to her knees next to Yukina, looking down at her still form.

"Is she…?" Sango began, fearing she already knew the answer and could not bring herself to phrase the whole question.

Hiei did not answer, only picked up his sister's dead body in his arms. He then noticed there were many small objects on the floor that he recognized as tear gems. She had been crying as she died, suffering, and still she could only think of the others, hoping they got out safe.

"Gather those," Hiei told Sango, his voice void of emotion as he glanced down at her.

She nodded, not wanting to meet his crimson eyes as her own filled with tears. With blurred vision, she scooped up all the tear gems and Miroku bent down to help. They had seen the gems after Keiko had died and knew now that they were her tears. Miroku tore off a piece of his sleeve and made it into a crude pouch so they could carry them, then handed the now full pouch to Sango with a small nod.

Hiei carried the body and the others followed silently, words not able to be formed and even if they were, it was doubted anyone would speak anyway. Hiei seemed to know where he was heading so they followed lamely behind, dragging their heavy-seeming feet along. They suddenly felling tired and exhausted but most of all, filled with grief.

Hiei sensed the other group coming from another direction, but he did not stop, knowing that they would meet with them soon. Sure enough, the other group rounded a corner and the six froze in their tracks, staring in shock and horror at the limp body in Hiei's arms.

Kuwabara stared in dismay as he saw Yukina's still form then looked angrily at Hiei.

"What the hell did you do!" Kuwabara yelled, putting all his grief and anger in his words toward Hiei as his face crumpled and tears came to his eyes.

Hiei, however, did not answer, only ignored Kuwabara. He did not even utter an insult, which was unlike him. He only walked on and the others could do nothing, but follow.

He reached the oak tree outside and put Yukina down gently, gentler than he had ever treated anyone—anything in his whole life. He began to dig a grave next to where Keiko was buried, and Yusuke was the first to go over and help him. Slowly the other boys began to help, except Kuwabara who was leaning again a tree, crying. Kirara brought over a large rock, which Kagome began to work on, carving the koorime's name. Soon the grave was fully dug and she was buried.

Each said a little something, then touched the tombstone lightly, before going inside. A crumpled Kuwabara was half-dragged inside by Yusuke and everyone said their last respects, until only Hiei was left.

Sango was second to last and hesitated before leaving. She could not describe their relationship, or if she hated him or loved him, felt anything at all toward him, but she did know she did not want to leave him alone. She believed someone should stay with him, and that made her hesitate, lingering nearby as he stood, dry-eyed, just staring at the grave.

"Leave," he growled at her harshly when he sensed her presence hanging back.

Reluctantly, she did leave with a finally sigh.

* * *

Everyone was still gathered in the common room, sitting on those couches they sat on so often, where only sounds of crying were heard as no one dared speak, even hours later.

All Kagome wanted to do since she saw Yukina's dead form was crawl up into Kurama's embrace and cry, but she could not do that in front of others, mainly, Inuyasha. The tears, however, did come, and she hugged Shippo to her instead, although it was not the same. She wanted to be in the arms of the man she loved, but at the moment she could not do that.

"Should someone go check on Hiei? He never did come back inside…" Kagome mentioned.

Kuwabara suddenly got angry, his temper flaring. " Why should anyone care about the shrimp? Why should he be suffering at the moment? I bet he didn't give care about Yukina like he doesn't care about any of us either," Kuwabara yelled.

"Yukina was his sister, baka," Yusuke snapped at him. His harsh comment immediately silenced Kuwabara, who watched him with wide eyes.

Sango abruptly got up from her seat. "I'll go."

"No, I will since I was close to his sister too," Kuwabara declared.

Botan stared at both of them incredulously, as though both had suddenly gone mad or grown a second head. "He hates you both, why would he want to see either of you?"

For some reason, Botan's words stung Sango. "I…I think I might be able to get through to him, that's all," Sango said, and with that turned and left.

Kagome tried to explain on her friend's behalf. "She had a similar experience with her brother dying," Kagome said, although that was a long story she did not want to get into.

* * *

Sango trudged outside into the dark, searching for Hiei. He had not been by the oak tree that now had two tombstones underneath it, side by side. Finally she found him a small distance away, just far enough away that he could still see the oak tree in the distance. He sat on a tree branch, his face turned toward the moon.

"Hiei," she said. She got no response. "Are you okay?"

He growled at her words as he jumped down and slammed into her, causing her to fall onto the ground. He climbed on top of her, his legs straddling her waist. He had her arms pinned above her head, as he leaned over her with an angry look on his face. Just like she took her anger out on him when Keiko died, now he was using her as a tool to direct his anger toward.

"Okay? Do you really think I'd be okay?" he hissed at her, tightening the grip on her arms to a bruising tightness.

"It was only a question!" she hissed back.

"It was an idiotic one," he growled. "Do you expect me to be happy and all smiles after my sister just died?"

"I don't expect you to be happy and smiley ever. That would be just plain creepy," Sango told him.

His nails dug into her skin painfully and she bit her lip to keep from protesting. "This isn't a time for jokes, slayer."

"You're right, it isn't, but I know how you feel," she told him sincerely.

He picked up her arms, forcing her head up too and then slammed her back into the ground with tremendous force, so much so that her head started spinning and gray spots appeared in her vision. Not only would she be bruised tomorrow, she might have a concussion too, though the bruises were not anything new to her. She always had quite a few bruises on her after she spent a night with Hiei.

"You know _nothing_!" he yelled, emphasizing the last word.

"You think so?" she told him angrily, rage filling her eyes. "Did you forget I saw my brother die? More than that, I saw my brother, my little, innocent brother, kill my father and fellow villagers in front of me."

"But your brother is still alive," he corrected her.

"Yes, but I saw him die and at the time, I had no idea he was coming back. Do you know how much pain I was in? And now he's back," she told him, saying the next part bitterly, "but he doesn't even know who I am. Do you know what it's like to want to hug someone you care about? To comfort them and they can't even remember who you are, let alone your name?"

Later on, she would look back and realize that he might, since he had never told Yukina he was her brother. Had he ever wanted to? Want to hold her? But she doubted it. This was Hiei; he was a jerk, a bastard, and she could not imagine him getting close to anyone. These thoughts went through her head later, but at the time she was just filled with rage, needing to get it out and not thinking logically at all.

Hiei was intent on listening to her so she took this time to lift her legs up and kick him in the stomach, sending him off her and she stood, yelling at him in anger and glaring at him with such hate as tears formed in her eyes.

"The only thing keeping my brother alive is a jewel shard in his back and everyone in the past, the youkai, Naraku, even Inuyasha, want to put the Shikon no Tama back together. And when they do my brother will die. _He'll die_, because to make the jewel whole they need every piece. Do you know what it's like to live with the knowledge that your brother is going to die? That every time I see him, get a glimpse of him, it might be the last time I do? I saw him die once, I don't want to see it again! He could be dead right now and I don't even know about it because I'm stuck in this damn house!" The hot tears fell from her eyes freely now. "I—"

She would have continued but suddenly Hiei's lips were on hers, cutting off anything she wanted to say. It felt good to tell someone this finally, all the anger and sorrow about the subject building up inside her, but Hiei kissing her was not something she wanted at the moment. Usually she let him kiss her and do other things to her, letting the lust and desire consume her to make her forget everything else. But right now, she wanted her anger, wanted to yell at someone, to yell and scream and rave about her problems, dumping them on someone else so she would not have to deal with them anymore.

Hiei kissed her because it was the only way he knew to comfort her, but she did not want any comfort. She wanted to be angry. She pushed him roughly back, punching him in the side of the face. If she had brought her hiraikotsu with her she would have used it to keep him away, but sadly she had left it inside.

She took another swing at him, but he easily blocked it with his arm. Sango continued to try to punch him while he blocked, but then he found himself getting angry too and he began yelling at her.

"And how do you think I feel? Seeing my sister die in front of me? I could hear her thoughts as she died too and all she wanted for us to get out safe. I heard her wishing she had met me, but I could never actually tell her I was her brother, not even in her dying moments." He punched her in the side of the face and she stumbled backward. "I could have sent her the knowledge telepathically, but I still didn't. I couldn't even tell my own sister the truth when I had the chance!"

He had her on the ground once again, this time with her arms pinned to her sides, but he did not try to hurt her. Instead he buried his face in her hair, surprising her. His grip on her lessened and only his body lying on top of hers kept her pinned to the floor, but she dared not move. She felt wetness trickle down her neck and realized with shock that he was crying as he buried his face near hers.

Sango could not comfort him because she did not know how. The two shared a physical relationship, not one where they sat down and had meaningful conversations. Any conversations they had included fighting and death threats. She did not love him, though she was not sure if she could say she hated him anymore either. She had cared enough to look for him now when he had not come back, hadn't she? But, she could not love him, could not comfort him now, so she only stayed still as the tears fell freely.


	21. Treasure House

**_Deadly Games _**

**Chapter Twenty-one: Treasure House **

* * *

A few weeks had past and everything was back to normal. Joking and laughing took place and Hiei and Sango were arguing and threatening each other just like normal while lust took the two over at night, unknown by the others, and Kagome and Kurama's relationship still took place in secret. Though the pain was still very much alive, it was buried deep and smiles were put on to cover the sadness. Yusuke and Kuwabara acted like they always had before… but it seemed they only did it so others could no see their grief and worry about them.

* * *

Kagome ran through the halls, the sound of her mirthful laughter trailing behind her wherever she went. She turned a corner, but was abruptly pushed by Kurama into the wall, somewhat roughly, as he put a hand on either side of her shoulders, keeping her where she was.

"That didn't take long," she said with a breathy laugh, indicating how quickly he had found her.

He laughed softly and responded, "besides your laughing, it was still easy to find you. You have a very clear scent of strawberries." He brought his lips down to her neck, taking in the sweet, fresh scent of her and she could feel the smile on his lips. Then, teasingly, he licked her. "Hmm… you taste like strawberries too."

She giggled and said with an eyebrow raised, "strawberries, eh? Let's see what you taste like." She placed her arms around his neck, leaning into him, while she brought her lips down, kissing up his neck slowly, making her way up to his ear and quickly nipping at his lobe with her teeth and tongue. She sighed blissfully and moved away, looking up at him, just in time to see him leisurely open unfocused emerald eyes.

"It doesn't work with you, I can only smell the scent of roses all over, and since I've never eaten a rose, and don't plan to any time in the near future, I don't know what you taste like."

He laughed and said, "then you'll just have to taste in a different way."

He caught her lips with his and kissed her deeply with requited passion. His tongue searched for hers and explored her mouth, stroking her tongue with his. He gripped her hips abruptly, bringing her to him, causing her to call out, startled. Her cry soon turned into a moan as his hands slid under her shirt, moving slowly up and down her back with soft, smooth hands.

He broke the kiss, moving his face away and replaced his hands on her waist, leaving her with a smile on her kiss-swollen lips. She kept her arms around his neck, keeping him close, as she leaned against his chest.

A sharp pain suddenly went through her and she let go of Kurama, stumbling backwards as she cried out. She saw Kurama's lips move rapidly, but heard no sound. Her eyes rolled back into her head, leaving only white to be seen as her knees buckled and she collapsed to the floor.

* * *

The blood stained the floor, everywhere, going as far as the eye could see. There was not a single tile in the room that was not covered in the horrid dark red color. Five bodies lay dead on the floor, eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling; eyes that would never be used again in life. One pair, a man and woman, held hands even in death, their final moments still spent together.

The murder weapon fell to the floor with a sharp clang, the sound ringing throughout the room. No other sound could be heard, except the ringing and the panting of the murderer. The air was scented with the stench of blood, a vile metallic scent that made anyone want to retch at the smell. That same metallic scent could be tasted as though it had been swallowed and the power of it, that deep red liquid, was too much to handle.

Kagome wanted to heave, but she knew she was not actually there and the smell would soon fade if she just held on for a bit longer. In the back on her mind, she knew none of this was real, but it _felt_ dreadfully real.

It was all in Kagome's head, the blood, the aroma, but she still could not see the bodies of who they were. She only knew somehow in her head that there were five of them, lying amid all the thick red liquid. The blood shifted around in her mind, beginning to form words, a message, as Kagome watched.

The words slowly came together to form three word.

_They were murdered. _

Nothing happened for a second then the words faded, becoming just another puddle of blood. More words formed not too soon after, just below where the first words had come.

It continued on.

_You will be too. _

* * *

Kurama held Kagome in his arms while her body was thrown into spasms. Her eyes were rolled back into her head and her back arched and she shuddered, a gurgling sound coming from her throat. Abruptly, she stilled in his arms, her eyes closing and her whole body relaxed, unmoving. Then, just as abruptly, her eyes shot open and she was gasping, struggling in his arms.

Kagome was thrust out of the vision and back to reality in a swift action. She was panting, trying desperately to get air and willing herself not to heave. She had been able to smell the blood, taste it, and that awareness was slowly receding, leaving a diminishing taste of metallic liquid in her mouth.

"Kagome?" Kurama asked worriedly, and when she closed her eyes and began slumping in his arms, he exclaimed, "Kagome!"

Kagome jolted herself back into attentiveness, trying very hard to stay conscious, and regarded him while he looked at her through concerned eyes. He hugged her close for a second, then let her go, while beginning to question her.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Kurama asked as he set her back on her feet, though he still held her shoulders since her legs seemed extremely wobbly.

She leaned against the wall closing her eyes as she got her breathing under control again. She nodded to his question while trying to tell her body how to function once more. She opened her eyes slowly and was about to begin talking, telling him what she had seen, when Kagome saw something out of the corner of her eye.

She turned to the side and there in the hallway in front of them was a little girl. She stood in the middle of the hallway, just out of the darkness so that she could be seen. Kurama, following Kagome's gaze, also saw the little girl. Just how long had she been standing there?

She had short, golden blonde hair with long bangs that nearly covered her eyes. Her hair would have been just past shoulder length though it was tied back in a ponytail at the back of her head. Peaking through the blonde bangs were blue eyes full of mischief, just like all little girls tended to have. She smiled widely at the two in an almost devious way, while she had her hands clasped behind her back. In all, she looked to be about seven years old.

"You two are being very naughty," she told them with a giggled laugh. Her voice was cute and very girlish-like when she spoke.

"How so?" Kagome asked, then thinking of a better question, she asked, "who are you?"

The little girl chose to ignore the second question. "Keeping secrets is no good. Nothing good ever comes out of it," she told them. She tsked them, like a scolding mother would do to a child, pointing one index finger straight while the other pointer finger brushed over it in a 'shame on you' manner.

Kagome was about to ask another question, but the girl began humming. Her humming filled the air all around them, echoing off the walls, surrounding them until it became so loud that it was all that could be heard. Then the humming turned into singing. Though the song was wordless, it still had a melody that the little girl seemed to know very well. Then suddenly, the girl disappeared, vanishing before their eyes without a trace left behind.

* * *

"I could see the blood, taste it in my mouth, smell it…. It was disgusting and horrible," Kagome said, shivering at the mere thought of it as she told the rest.

Kurama wanted nothing more than to go over and hold Kagome until all her troubles melted away. As exciting as it was, having a hushed relationship and always keeping everything between them a secret, it was quite a hassle at the same time.

"It's quite an obvious message though," Botan said. "We already know it's trying to murder us after… after it already killed two of our own."

"It's just teasing us," Yusuke said, heatedly. "It likes to see us in pain."

"Wait, Kagome, you said there were only five bodies in your vision?" Miroku asked.

"Yes. I couldn't see any of them, so I don't even know who was dead, but the knowledge that there was five was in my head, without having to see them. It was as though I was inside the murderer for those seconds and he or she knew they had killed five people," Kagome explained. "Why?"

"If there were seven people, there should have been six bodies, not five," he explained.

"Did you miscount?" Sango asked her.

"No, there was definitely five," Kagome said as she thought back on it, nodding her head sharply as she did to confirm what she said.

"So maybe it hunted one down and killed them later, or the last person killed themselves of something," Yusuke said impatiently. "Why does it matter how many are dead? We just need to know which one the murderer is so we can kill his or her sorry ass."

The rest nodded in agreement, and Kagome only felt sorry that she never got to see the faces of those that were dead.

"But then after the vision, there was a little girl," Kagome told them.

"You sure it wasn't part of the vision, Kagome?" Shippo asked.

"No, because Kurama saw it too," Kagome said, then after the words came out she realized her mistake.

"What were you doing with Kurama?" was Inuyasha's sharp question though he was staring daggers at Kurama. Kagome had smelt of roses when she had found the group too. Exactly why was that?

"I found her while she was half-unconscious, having the vision," Kurama replied simply, finding that the truth was easily covered up.

"Feh," he said, turning his head away from the kitsune.

"Okay, let's forget about the jealousy for a moment, and get back to the problem at hand. Who was the little girl?" Miroku said, while ignoring Inuyasha's protest to his statement.

Kagome was blushing, but answered, "she had blonde hair in a ponytail and blue eyes. She was probably around seven or so."

"Could there be someone here that we didn't know about?" Kuwabara questioned.

"No, she wasn't human, I don't think. She was singing and then suddenly disappeared into thin air," she told them.

"We're all over-looking the obvious," Shizuru said.

"And what's that?" Sango asked, irritated with Shizuru for some reason.

The two girls had not gotten along that well ever since Shizuru arrived. It was just plain instinct on both girls' part to dislike each other for no apparent reason. Sango heard Hiei snickered behind her, definitely hearing the annoyance in her voice, and she glared at him in an aggravated way, which he gladly returned.

Hiei and Sango might have shared that tender yet confusing moment together, but that had not changed much between them. Sango had woken up the next morning only to find Hiei gone. When she tried to talk to him later that day, he was as rude to her as ever. So she had forgotten all about it, acting like she normally did to the obnoxious demon, but she still left it in the back of her mind for further observation at a later time.

"That little girl, she was one of the seven that originally lived here. Her name… it meant 'treasure house' or something like that, but I don't remember it," Shizuru commented.

" Kura," Miroku told her, with a slight smile, which only ticked Sango off. Another reason she did not like Shizuru was because of how well Miroku got along with her.

"Of course!" Kagome said. "I had forgotten about her, since when I got that first vision, when I was in Miya's body, I never met the girl."

"But that's odd, isn't it? For her to just show up, especially since, well, she's _dead_," Botan said. _I'm usually able to see the dead, but here… I haven't been able to, _she thought, _so how is it Kagome can?_

"Everything in this house is odd," Inuyasha grumbled. "Did you expect anything else?"

The rest shrugged and after a few more commented, everyone went to the dining room to have lunch. Kagome hung back and began slowly moving away from the crowd, heading toward Miya's room.

Just as she was about to turn down a different hallway, a hand caught her arm.

"And where do you think you're going?" Kurama asked.

"I'm going to find out more about the little girl, Kura," Kagome told him.

Kurama's grip tightened on her, not painfully, but in a grip that showed he disliked the idea. He knew exactly where she was heading. "It's dangerous there, Kagome. Last time you couldn't even get in, and afterward we fell down a hole in the floor."

"Look, I figure since I've gotten all these visions about the house's past and it hasn't killed me yet, I doubt it will anytime soon. So I might as well gather what information I can before it changes his or her mind."

"Kagome…" Kurama said with a sigh. "I'm not going to be able to convince you otherwise, am I?"

She smiled and said cheerfully, "nope."

Kagome kissed him quickly while getting free from his grip that had loosened when her lips and met his. She knew he would have gone with her, but if anyone noticed at lunch that both of them were gone, suspicions would be raised and they could not have that, now could they? It left Kagome to go alone, heading toward Miya's room.

It took her only a second after taking one step into the room and closing the door, to be surrounded by mystical green light. She gasped as the energy soaked into her, chilling her down to the bone and then she was gone from the present, thrown into the past.

* * *

"Do we have a deal, Yasuo?" she asked him while grinning.

She stuck out her hand for a handshake and he looked at it warily. He then finally accepted it with a small laugh.

"Alright… Miya."

Kagome recognized this scene. It was the first day Miya had got to the house and first met everyone. This was where Kagome left off after she had read the journal. Now she was finishing whatever scene had been started.

He left not too soon after and she admitted she was sad to see him go. She had a distinct feeling that it was going to be very lonely in Lord Akio's home, but she would have to suck it up and bear it. If she was going to be his wife, she would have to get used to it.

She looked around the room had sighed. Now what was she suppose to do for the rest of the day?

That's when Miya heard giggling come from the curtains. They were long, red, velvet curtains, hanging in front of the doors that lead outside onto the balcony.

"Since when do curtains giggle?" Miya said quite loudly so her voice carried across the room.

The curtains giggled again as Miya made her way across the room. In one quick, fluid motion she pushed the curtains away revealing a little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. The girl was tall for a seven-year-old's standards, but was much shorter than Miya still. She had been smiling, but frowned playfully when Miya revealed her hiding spot.

"Aw, you found me!"

"Hello," Miya said to the little girl. "You must be Kura."

"Uh-huh!" Kura said as she moved across the room onto Miya's bed, flopping down on it. She giggled again as she began to bounce up and down. "Oh, it's soft!" she exclaimed as she bounced some more. She then turned her attention back to the woman. "And you're Miya!"

Miya just smiled. Maybe her day wouldn't be so boring after all.

The girl abruptly stopped, smiling mischievously at Miya. "I saw that, you know." She paused. "Well, not so much saw as heard, but I did peak to see the last part."

"What do you mean?" Miya asked, clearly puzzled.

"With Yasuo! Do you like him?" she asked.

"He was very nice," Miya told her.

"No, that's not what I mean! Do you _like_ him?" Kura asked deviously.

"I hardly know him!" Miya said, but to her horror a blush was forming on her cheeks.

Kura giggled, but quickly changed the subject, but only because she had a short attention span. "Does this mean I can call you Miya too? I don't have to call you 'lady'?"

"Well, you do when others are around, but otherwise I don't mind," she told the girl truthfully.

"I'm happy you're here though. It's not very exciting here," Kura told her, then an odd smile came on her face. "At least not at the moment."

She suddenly got off the bed and went to the door as though she heard something. "I gotta go! Bye, Miya!"

She ran out the door closing it behind her. Then two second later the door opened again and Kura stuck her head in the door. "You know Yasuo likes you right? I can tell."

Then once again the girl was gone, leaving mirthful laughter behind and a blushing Miya.

* * *

Sango rushed down the hallway with the noble's rooms in it, but mainly with the one she was looking for, Miya's. Kagome had not shown up at the dining hall and before everyone had sat down to eat, Kurama had made his way over to her and murmured to her that Kagome had gone searching in the noble's room. Sango knew he would have rather gone himself, but now he had to trust her to make sure Kagome was alright because for him to go would be too suspicious.

_That idiot! She's going to get herself killed, running off alone,_ Sango thought furiously, while concerned for her friend's safety.

Suddenly she heard girlish laughter coming from behind her. Sango spun around, but no one was there. The laughter had died down as soon as she had turned.

" Kura?" Sango called nervously, but shrugged when she saw nothing.

A sudden chill ran through Sango as a sapphire light surrounded her. Yuki turned around again, just in time to see Kura leaving Miya's room, laughing as she did.

" Kura!" Yuki called as she rushed over to the girl. Yuki had passed Lord Akio in the halls and he had told her to go find the little girl, so, grudgingly, she had obeyed. "What were you doing in Lady Miya's room?"

"Nothing," she said guiltily.

"You know you're not allowed in a noble's room, unless invited or you work for them," Yuki told her sternly.

"Aw, but she's interesting!" Kura protested as she pouted.

Yuki just rolled her eyes. She never did get along well with children. If it were up to her, she would never have any.

She grabbed onto Kura's arm as she began dragging her to her room. Unexpectedly, Sango's hand went through Kura's arm, as Yuki released her hold on Sango's body and it turned back into Sango. The weight change was unanticipated, one second dragging the girl behind her, the next having no weight to pull, and Sango began to fall forward, until she fell onto the floor. She banged her head on the floor hard and passed out.

* * *

_Where the hell am I?_ Sango thought as she awoke with a throbbing headache.

She blinked for a few seconds, before she recognized her own ceiling. She actually did not use her bed much, since she began waking up in… a different bed in the mornings, though she usually ran out of that room fairly quickly after spitting out some insults.

She looked toward the small window in the room and saw it was dark out. Her head then turned toward the door and she saw a figure there with crimson eyes watching her.

When he saw that she was awake he spoke. "Be more careful, baka," Hiei told her.

What the…? Hiei? Being nice to her and bringing her back to her room? Since when? She probably hit her head a little too hard because that definitely was _not_ happening. They did not actually care for one another, they just yelled and threatened each other a lot. What had changed?

He caught the last sentence in her mind and responded telepathically, _Nothing has changed. Like I'd ever care about an idiotic, disgusting human. And worse than that, a demon slayer. You're just… entertainment_, he thought wickedly. In his mind the words did not ring true, but Sango was convinced by them.

_Get out of my head, jerk,_ she responded furiously as she chucked a random object across the room at him.

He dodged it easily and she heard his quiet laughter in her head as he left the room, just leaving behind the ringing of laughter. Out of pure fury and annoyance at being laughed at, she punched the wall, making a hole in it and wincing slightly as she felt the blood beginning to drip down her bruised knuckles.

* * *

Kagome sighed as she went back to her room. That trip to the past had not helped much, but at least she now knew that the girl she had seen had indeed been Kura. That was something, right?

Discontentedly, she got ready for bed and crawled into it, a bit saddened that a certain emerald-eyed fox demon could not hold her. She needed the comfort.

Her dreams were scraps and pieces of her life twisted in her dream state, but she did not remember any of them except for one just before she woke up.

Kagome walked through the darkness of her dream. Something told her she was dreaming, but at the same time, it seemed so real and she could not truly grasp the fact that it was only a dream.

There was darkness everywhere, shadows engulfed by only more shadows, and there was no light in the whole entire place. Yet still Kagome could see her hands in front of her.

A beam of light began to appear before her, in its center, the girl Kura. It appeared slowly, becoming a bit lighter with each second as to not hurt Kagome's eyes as it appeared. The little girl came into focus, a slight cruel smile on her face.

Kagome tried to call out the little girl's name, but found she had no voice and could only observe around her.

The little girl swayed and began humming a little melody, her blue eyes dull, unlike how they had sparkled before. A white film appeared over her eyes as her humming turned into words, contrasting to last time when her song had no words. The words that did come out, however, were cryptic, more like a message than a true song.

_Pain, betrayal, love, _

_Struck down from above. _

_Blood pouring down, _

_Utter not a sound. _

_It'll come for you whilst you sleep, _

_Lying dead in a heap. _

_Jealous grows thick. _

_A clean, long blade, _

_Runs through, quick. _

_A last goodbye as you fade. _

_To love ones you bade _

_A finally farewell, evermore, _

_To be forgotten, 'tis sure. _

The song was over and the girl's voice began humming again, until she stopped altogether and began laughing. Not a sweet, innocent, little girl's laugh, but an adult one that Kagome recognized as the house's laugh that she had heard before. Had the house's spirit taken over her? Or was she the house?

Kagome stumbled backwards and away from the girl, but her feet began sinking into the shadows. The shadows rose up, starting to consume her while she tried to scream, but her voice still failed to work. When she was up to her chest in shadows, she reached a hand up to Kura who was somehow so much closer now, but the girl only stared at her sadly, back to normal once more.

Soon she was entirely consumed. The shadows stabbed at her, hurting her, and she could not breathe. She gasped for air, but the shadows were swallowed instead, running deep into her throat, truly consuming her now. She was dying and no one was there to save her.

Abruptly, Kagome sat up in her bed, jolted out of her dream. She was gasping for air, her chest rising and falling swiftly with a thin layer of sweat covering her. There was a rustle in front of her and she looked up to see a figure in the darkness. She would not have recognized it if it had not been for the blue eyes that shone even in the dark.

Kura.

"Don't let it take you," she whispered to her.

Then she was gone.


	22. Die For You

_**Deadly Games**_

**Chapter Twenty-two: Die For You**

* * *

"Sango?" Kagome called through the door.

"Come in," was the muffled reply.

She walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Sango had mentioned that she had wanted to talk with her and by the way she said it, Kagome could tell something was really eating at Sango. For that reason, she had told her she would come first thing the next morning.

The first thing Kagome noticed was Sango's bandaged hand. Her eyes widened and she said, "Sango, what happened to you?"

From the looks of it, Sango had bandaged the wound herself too, since it was done sloppily. Sango was actually good at putting on bandages; it had just been hard for her since it was her dominant hand that she hurt, leaving her with the other one to work with.

Sango took the hand out of her lap and put it behind her back, guiltily. "Nothing," she said quickly. "Just a few scratches, that's all."

Kagome raised an eyebrow, but let the subject drop. She sat on Sango's bed Indian style, across from her friend. Sango would not meet her eyes, and the one hand that was still in her lap fidgeted nervously with her clothes.

"What would you say if I told you…," Sango began but her voice trailed off. She tried again. "If I told you that I kissed Hiei and did a little more than that?" Sango asked her while thinking, _actually, more than a little_. Her face heated up slightly.

"I'd say ha, very funny—" Kagome began, then seeing the seriousness on Sango's face, she continued with, "and, oh my god, you're not kidding."

Sango avoided her friend's eyes, expecting disapproval and disgust. She was surprised she was not yelling, considering she had just slept multiple times with someone she thought she hated.

"Okay, so spill it, what happened?" Kagome asked.

"What?" Sango asked surprised, bringing her head up to look at Kagome. "You're not going to yell at me?"

"Why would I yell at you for falling for someone?" she asked, eyeing her with puzzlement.

"But I'm not in love with him! I hardly even like him! He's so arrogant and annoying… conceded…"

"Sounds like me when I used to talk about Inuyasha before I knew I was in love with him," Kagome informed her, thinking silently, _and look how that turned out. I'm so confused about my feelings toward him and I fell in love with another man_.

"I don't love him!" she yelled, though she found she could not say she hated him anymore either. "I don't know how I feel! No, I take that back, I feel a lot of lust and desire when with him, but that's all. All passion, no actually deep feelings." She put her head in her hands, bringing her other hand back from behind her back, while crying softly. "I don't know why I feel this way," she whispered as her tears came.

Kagome hugged her friend in an attempt to console her and Sango accepted the comfort as a few sobs escaped her. Then Kagome's gaze fell on Sango's wounded hand and her eyes widened once more.

"He didn't…? Did he do this to you?" Kagome asked, raising her friend's hand so she could inspect it closer.

She yanked her hand back and said nervously, "no… I… I got angry and, well… kind of punched a hole through my wall." She said the last part quickly, then continued normally, "though the house took away the hole once I got my fist out of the wall again."

"Punched your fist through the wall? I've never seen you get angry enough to do _that _before," Kagome commented.

"Yeah, well, he really pissed me off that time," Sango said, while thinking, _but why was I so pissed off by his comment? He told me when me at the beginning that we'd only have a physical relationship and that we weren't going to have any other feelings besides the hate we already felt for each other. He had called me "entertainment" but with agreeing to his terms, that was all it was ever supposed to be. Just fun, no other emotions involved. So why had his comment annoyed me to such a degree?_ Everything was so muddled and she could not figure out what she was feeling.

Kagome just shook her head slightly, not really understanding where that kind of anger could have come from. She might not be able to understand it, but she could at least be there to help and console her friend.

* * *

Sango was walking to what she knew was the way to Yuki's room. Ever since Kagome had left, she had this itching feeling to go to the seductress' room that would not go away until she gave in and began walking toward it.

Sango turned the handle slowly and opened the door to reveal another inside.

"You too, huh?" Sango asked Hiei as she walked into the room, closing the door quietly behind her with a soft thud.

"Hn," was all he said. He crossed his arms as he sat on the windowsill, staring out the window.

Well, if he wasn't going to talk, what was the point of her staying?

"Okay, I'm here, now I'm leaving," Sango said, turning on her heels toward the door.

She was at the door, her hand placed lightly on the handle when the voice of another came to her ears.

"Don't go to him," said the male voice behind her.

"What?" she responded, confused. Who was he talking about?

"Don't go to Lord Jiro."

_Oh, crap, not again,_ Sango thought just as she was taken over by the spirit.

Half turning her head, Yuki called back to Ryu, "I'm going anyway."

"Do you love him?"

"What's love got to do with it? I just want to marry a wealthy man," she told him quietly.

Ryu shifted his position and sneered at her. "It probably won't happen. The lord is just using you as a plaything, merely a hobby."

"I have to try," she said as she finally turned around to face him once more. Ryu got down from the ledge he sat on, making his way slowly over to her, never taking his dark eyes off her.

"Do you love him?" he repeated.

"I don't know what love is," she responded automatically, though she desperately wanted to take a step back and away from him as he came closer. The look in his eyes was too intimate, but she was frozen where she was, unable to move or look away.

He had always had an infatuation with her since the day they met and Yuki had always played along without another thought. Now what was all this talk of love? Like many others, she did not know the meaning of the word.

His arms encircled her, bringing her close, but still she did not respond. "I can teach you how to love," he told Yuki.

Her gaze fell on the bed the two were standing near and she told him, "you already have."

Ryu shook his head. "That's lust, not love."

She frowned and in a provoked way, asking, "then what's love?"

"Love is… it's caring for someone a lot, prepared to give up everything to the person, willing to do anything for the person. To get a warm feeling every time they glance at you or have them put a smile on your face for no reason, even if it's just a memory. To love is to be willing to die for a person."

She thought of what he said, processing it quickly through her mind.

"I can't love," she responded, then in her head, Yuki thought,_ I won't let myself_.

She removed Ryu's arms from around her and began walking toward the door, heading for Lord Jiro's room. She opened the door, but just as she was about to leave she heard Ryu call her name. Yuki turned, curious of what it was he wanted.

"I'd die for you," he told her.

Her eyes widened in surprise and she felt her heartbeat quicken. He…what? When did this happen? When had he fallen for her? Never before had she thought of him in that way. She was a seductress; she could not afford to love.

Something inside of her tugged her toward him, but she left, ignoring the feeling, closing the door quietly behind her.

Ryu watched her go with sadness in his eyes, but accepted her response. In walking away, he knew what she felt. It hurt, but at least now he knew. He had been foolish if he ever thought that a girl like her could ever love at all, let alone someone like him.

He began turning away to look out the window, when he heard the door open once again. He turned just in time to see Yuki rush into the room and throw herself into his arms, kissing him passionately.

Yuki could understand now, why Miya had picked a servant over a lord. She wanted love, not wealth and Akio could not give her that love. She could find none with Akio, but Yasuo could comfort and hold her, just like what Yuki felt when she was with Ryu.

Yuki was fooling herself if she ever thought she had a chance with Lord Jiro, but that wouldn't stop her from trying.

Still kissing each other deeply, only resurfacing for air, Yuki led Ryu over to the bed. He stopped her, making her stay in place as he toned the kiss down, just brushing her lips with his in sweet, gentle kisses. The soft kisses seemed to say more than the passion-filled ones, because the brush of his lips against hers tenderly was more meaningful then the lust that was felt before.

Yuki took both sides of his face in her hands, her fingers moving gently across his smooth, pale skin. Though in the part of her mind that was still Sango, she could feel the difference between what she saw, Yuki's hand brushing against Ryu's cheek, and her bandaged one doing so.

Ryu took his lips away, leaning her forehead against hers, both keeping their eyes closed as their breathing turned back to normal. Her fingernails trailed gently over his cheeks as he slowly brought his lips down to meet hers to just touch them together.

Hiei, with his arms around Sango, captured her lips once more in a light kiss. Sango's fingertips brushed against his cheek, playing delicately over his skin as his hands stroked up and down her sides. Slowly, Sango opened her eyes to meet Hiei's, who was opening his at the same time.

Suddenly, both seemed to realize what they were doing. Both froze in place, unmoving, after displaying such a tender moment. They needed a way to get out of that tension zone and back to the pure lust they felt when together. It made things so much simpler than any complex emotions.

Both sprung apart from each other, neither wanting any other emotions, could not handle any pure emotions. Maybe if it had been a passionate, lustful kiss they would have continued, but the kiss the two from the past had shared… that had meant so much more with deeper emotions hidden within. Lust was something Hiei and Sango handled together all the time, but feelings beside desire… neither could handle that.

"I hate when it does that," Sango grumbled as she brushed passed Hiei swiftly and was out of the room, with Hiei not too far behind.

"Become so emotionless and coldhearted already that you can't handle any emotions?" Hiei asked sardonically.

"No, Hiei that would be you. You just described yourself," Sango snapped. He grabbed her arm lightly and she whirled around, yanking her arm out of his grip. "Don't touch me," she growled at him.

And just because she said it, he grabbed her arm once again, this time painfully, while bringing her closer. She glared at the hand that grabbed her arm, but he did not let go.

"What's the matter, slayer? Don't trust me?" Hiei asked, his grip becoming more painful as his nails dug into her skin. Not enough to draw blood, but painful all the same.

She brought her face close to his, their lips barely apart and said low and menacingly, "I could never trust a disgusting _demon_ like you."

For some reason, her words sunk deep down within him, bringing a faint pain into his chest. He abruptly let go of her arm, making her stumble backwards. Quickly regaining her balance, she began swiftly walking away from him without looking back.

Why was she running? But Sango already knew the answer. She was afraid of what she might feel if she stayed. That gentle kiss… it had opened too many awkward questions that she did not want to deal with. In those last moments, it had no longer been Yuki and Ryu, just her and Hiei kissing. The kiss had been tender, unlike anything they had shared before.

She felt a pang of regret go through her as she thought back on how harsh her voice had been when she spoke those last words to them. She did not trust him much, but the way she had said it…

She turned back to him, about to say something, possibly even apologize, but he was already gone.

* * *

Shizuru walked into the common room, taking in quickly that two of their members, Sango and Hiei, were missing. However, those two were often missing, along with Kurama and Kagome, which she happened to find very shady. Today, though, she was glad Kagome and Kurama were present.

"Here," Shizuru said as she tossed two books onto the table in front of the rest, but the two books slid over to Kagome.

"What…?" Kagome began, but the words died on her lips when she saw that there was a name inscribed on the cover of one. Miya.

"It's those journals again," Shippo said as he watched Kagome pick up the one journal timidly.

Botan, who was sitting next to Kagome, picked up the other journal, and held it out to Kurama. "This is for you then, I suppose," Botan told him, offering him the book.

"Where'd you find them?" Miroku asked as he watched Kurama take the journal. also noticing how evilly Inuyasha glanced at Kurama as he picked it up. No doubt he was remembering the last time he saw Kagome and Kurama possessed and the kiss they shared.

Shizuru ran a hand through her hair, pushing it away from her face, as she responded, "I stumbled on them on my way here, literally. They were right in the middle of the hallway. Guess someone's trying to help us out."

"I don't see how these journals can help us out though. It's not as though the person wrote who was murdering them as they died and that's what we need to know. These journals are useless to us," Inuyasha commented, annoyed.

"No, but it might have clues as to who the murder is," Sango replied, as she came into the room, collapsing down on the couch next to Kagome. "They better anyway, because if all these flashbacks are for nothing, I'm going to be ticked off."

"Yes, but you're ticked off so very easily, so it's not much of an accomplishment," Hiei said from the shadows, though his tone was a little harsher than usually as he taunted Sango.

How long he had been in the corner shrouded in shadows, no one knew, but it seemed as though he had been standing there for a while. Kagome did notice however, how Sango averted her eyes away from the fire demon.

Kagome and Kurama exchanged a glance as they each opened the journals in front of them. Kagome opened it to a random page and before she even had time to start reading, she was sucked into the book in front of her, as Kurama was being brought into Yasuo's journal as well.

* * *

"I'd just like to know how you convinced Lord Akio to allow me to do this," Yasuo murmured to her.

He rested his chin atop her headed while his arms encircled her waist Miya leaned back against his chest with a satisfied sigh. He had mumbled the words into her ear and she tried to refrain from giggling as his warm breath tickled her senses.

She smiled. "Well, it was quite easy. I only told him that I needed a servant close by and since you're the only one available, you get to move into the room beside mine," she told him as she moved so that she could look up into his face as she spoke.

"Ah, what genius," he teased.

Her forest green eyes sparkled as she turned around in his arms.

Yasuo face suddenly turned serious. He brushed his fingertips against her cheek. "No more hiding?"

She blushed, not because of the touch, but because of the intimate look in his eyes. Miya looked away but he put a hand under her chin, making her look up at him.

"No more hiding," she whispered.

She could have Lord Akio, Miya knew this, but that was not the real question. The question was did she want him? It was like asking if a person wanted love or money. Money's nice—a lot more than nice to some people—but it could not replace the alternative.

He brushed his lips against hers. "Good," he said softly.

Yasuo began kissing her, leading her toward the bed as he did. All capability of thought left Miya as she allowed herself to be led and before she knew it, she was lying on the bed with Yasuo hovering above her.

Kagome however could only see Kurama as she looked up. He lowered himself to meet her lips, but that was when reality twisted. The bedroom vanished and instead Kagome found that the two of them were sprawled across the coffee table with quite an audience watching them.

Kagome's cheeks were flaming as she realized where she was. His upper body was lifted off her, but Kurama was pressed against her everywhere else that counted. Her hands were under his shirt, gripping his back. She never remembered putting them there. Then again, she didn't remember much. Her brain had gone on hold for awhile.

He got up to his knees slowly, although he was still straddling her. Kagome lifted herself up on her palms lifting the front of her body upward. However, it brought her closer to Kurama, which was not such a good idea at the time. Maybe she had not thought this all the way through

She quickly moved out from under Kurama and scurried away, not meeting anyone's eyes as she did. Kagome backed up and onto the couch, literally jumping when someone touched her shoulder.

"What's the matter?" she heard someone ask, but she was not much paying attention.

Kagome looked back at who had tapped her and her gaze met Sango's for a second. She exchanged a knowing glance with a small, not-so-happy smile attached to it.

Oh, what the two of them went through to get out of this hellhole.

* * *

Sango drew one of her knees up to her chest and rested her cheek against her knee, looking into the dark shadows of the room. With the sun already set, almost the whole room was dark and covered in shadows, but she was looking at one place in particular.

"What are you even doing here?" Hiei asked harshly from his place hidden in darkness.

She narrowed her eyes at him, showing her annoyance and anger, but didn't respond to his question, probably because she wasn't sure why she was there. No, that wasn't true. She knew why she had come, but the second her gaze met his crimson one, the words had died on her lips. So instead she brushed passed him roughly and made her way to the small couch, which lead them to where they were now.

Sango gave an exasperated sigh before stretching out further in her seat and practically lying down, her hand on her slightly exposed stomach as the fabric of her shirt rolled upward.

Then before she could blink, Hiei was there on top of her, straddling her hips.

"Is this what you came for?" he asked, not giving her a chance to respond before his lips crashed down on her own.

He was so warm, his searing hot flesh against her, his mouth unrelenting. She protested and tried to push him away but his hands had an iron grip on her wrists, keeping them pinned to her side. He changed his grip so he held both wrists in one hand and held them above her head. He forcefully parted her lips, while his free hand slipped under her shirt.

Sango bit down on his tongue, making him jump back from her. He growled and grabbed her forcefully, bringing her to him. He brought his face to her neck, sending blazing kisses down her throat. He dragged his tongue roughly across one part in particular, before biting down hard on her neck. The moan that she was trying to suppress turned into a cry of alarm as she tried to push him away, but couldn't. Hiei stopped once he tasted her blood which mixed with his own in his mouth after she had bit his tongue.

Feeling his grip slacken, Sango jumped away from him as her hand flew to her wounded neck, but was partially glad for it reminded her why she was there in the first place. She shook her head, trying to keep her thoughts in place. "What we did… what we've been doing," she corrected herself, "it's over. No more."

"You've said that each time now… and every time, it's untrue, you come back for more… why is that?" he asked and Sango glared at him coldly. He was mocking her. She could hear it in his voice.

The only reason he mocked her, was because he knew it would make her angry and when she was angry… she always gave into the desire. It was not that they both necessarily wanted it—though he held no objections—it was only that they _needed_ it. Because it was so right and so wrong at the same time and made them feel better, washing away the hard days events from them.

"I can't do this… I feel disgusted with myself," she said, more to herself than to him.

They were standing a few feet away, but in a second, Hiei was in front of her with his arms around her, bringing her face down to his.

"Forget it. Forget it all," he told her before crushing his lips against hers. He wanted to help her forget… to make any pain go away….

A few seconds struggling proved in vain before she gave in and started heatedly kissing him back.

And, as she always did, she gave into the passion that erased… everything.


	23. Don't Speak

_**Deadly Games**_

**Chapter Twenty-three: Don't Speak**

* * *

Sango mumbled something as her dream began to mold and take shape in her mind, becoming perfectly clear in her dream state. She moaned while turning, moving unconsciously closer to the warm body next to her. Her dreams took her to the past; to two people she had gotten to know well after performing scenes of their lives out.

* * *

Yuki woke up to find Ryu was missing from beside her. Instead he was sitting on the edge of her bed with a sheet pooled in his lap, covering him as he sat with his back to her. She crawled up behind him, encircling him with her arms as she kissed the nape of his neck playfully. She was about to greet him when she felt how tense and uncomfortable he seemed in her arms.

He got up and walked away from her as he found his clothes and put them back on. Yuki held the bed sheet to her chest tightly as she watched him walk around the room.

"What's wrong?" she asked as a feeling of dread passed through her.

"We've been going on like this too long, Yuki. It can't stay like this forever," Ryu informed her as he dressed. When he was fully clothed he turned back to her, looking into her sapphire eyes. "You know how I feel, so you either break things off with the lord, or I'm gone."

She held his gaze, not able to look away. "You know I can't do that," she told him flatly.

He watched as she too got up and got into new clothes. He waited until she faced him again before saying what had to be said.

"Then I'm gone," Ryu told her.

Her heart was aching in her chest, but she responded indifferently, if not coldly. "That's fine with me," she responded nonchalantly, though her heart was breaking. "I could never love you anyway."

He said not another word, only brushed passed her on his way to the door and in the process infuriating her. She felt the anger rise inside her and let it come out. In such a tense situation there were two things she could do, cry or get angry. Yuki chose the one she knew better and let her rage consume her.

Well fine then! What did it matter to her? Like she cared at all what he did! He could leave if he wanted to. See if she cared at all!

* * *

Sango rested her head against Hiei's chest as she slept, her hair spread out onto her shoulders and onto him as her soft body pressed against his. At first she twitched in her sleep as the dream dragged on, then began tossing and turning violently as she felt Yuki's rage inside herself in the present.

Hiei woke up as her movements became frantic and her body tensed. Her eyelids trembled while she dreamt, her legs becoming tangled in the silk sheets. One of her hand that had rested on his chest used its nails to bit deep into his chest, making him push her off as she drew droplets of blood.

He called to her to wake up, but his voice did not reach her. Her breath became more frequent and her nails bit down into the mattress of the bed until Hiei did the only thing he could think of to wake her up. He slapped her across the face.

Sango's eyes shot open, but her eyes were a solid sapphire color with no white instead of her normal eye color. She was still channeling Yuki's spirit as she stood up, beginning to throw things around the room. She threw whatever she could find forcefully against the walls, only slightly satisfied if the thrown object made a large bang or crash when it landed. Tears of frustration fell down her face as her violent acts continued.

She took one of the multiple chairs in the room and chucked it at the wall, feeling a brief moment of pleasure when it fell partially crumbled to the ground and left a big crack in the wall.

That bastard! Like he could dump _her_. Who the hell did he think he was? Damn it, damn him, damn everything to hell and back. She would see who had the last laugh when she became the lord's wife.

…Then how come she felt so miserable?

She hated feeling this way! Love, what a stupid idea! He claimed to love her and yet he just got up and left. What the hell kind of love was that? It was stupid even entertaining the idea that she could ever be in love! Love, what a ridiculous thought! There was no such thing!

More tears fell as she grew more and more violent, her movements around the room becoming more rapid and more destructive.

Her thoughts turned to another couple who claimed to have love. The idea of the girl who could have anything, yet chose to be with a servant instead of a lord…! Now _that _was ridiculous! But she was happy with Yasuo, not with the lord, another part of herself told her.

Well, if she couldn't have happiness, neither could Miya.

Hiei put both hands on her shoulders, shaking her violently and keeping her from completely destroying the room.

With one last shake, Sango came back to herself, gasping for air, only steadied by Hiei.

* * *

"It was… intense," Sango said, trying to describe what she had felt. "It's like, a part of me knew what I was doing, but the majority just wanted to keep destroying the room because it was her, not me, there."

She had described her dream in full detail and told them everything about what happened, except for the fact that the room trashing took place in Hiei's room. She had just said it had taken place in her own. Besides, the house mended Hiei's room quickly after she calmed down, so there was no evidence to hide.

"Well, yeah. You were destroying a whole room. That's bound to be at least a little intense," Yusuke said, then added, "do you have any threes?"

Sango looked down at her hand and responded, "nope. Go fish."

"What I want to know is how you snapped out of it," Shizuru asked with an accusing gaze as Yusuke fished for a card out of the pile.

Did she ever mention how much she disliked Shizuru? She tried to think of a lie quick, but her brain was not exactly functioning properly. At the same time, she absentmindedly made sure her hair covered the bite Hiei had given her. "I…"

"I came in and found her trashing the room so I just shook her until she came back to herself," Kagome covered for her friend quickly. She had a feeling she knew where Sango really was and how, or should she say who, had snapped her out of it.

Hiei watched the miko and slayer curiously and observed the thankful look the slayer sent the other. He supposed the miko had either found out or had been told what was going on between the two. He wasn't sure how he felt about others knowing.

Sango glared at Shizuru. "Do you have any Jacks?"

Shizuru grudgingly handed over the Jack of Spades while Sango felt a great deal of triumph. It was amazing how easily amused she was by the little things in life.

"I think Yuki went insane with rage and killed everyone," Kuwabara declared in a moment of what he though was brilliance.

"We have no proof," Kurama said with a sigh, as he fished for a card in the pile after Shizuru had told him to go fish.

Discussion dragged on for a while, but mainly they played or those who did not play, watched them. Yusuke ended up winning, which he decided to gloat about, until the group just rolled their eyes and began leaving the annoying teenaged boy behind. Most of them left to eat lunch, but Kagome, Kurama, Sango, and Botan headed back to their rooms instead.

"I guess I should be happy that I haven't been possessed by any of these spirits yet," Botan commented, "but I feel like I should be doing _something_ to help, instead of sitting around, waiting for its next move."

"You're lucky you haven't been possessed," Sango informed her. "It's not fun to not have control over what you're doing or saying." She mumbled the next line. "And it always leads to awkward questions."

Kagome, who had overheard her last comment, murmured with a small smile, "there's a fine line between love and hate."

"Mine's not a line. There is no line, everything's mixed together. Just a big blob," she muttered back. Realizing what she said, her eyes widened, and she said quickly, "I didn't mean that."

Because if she did, then it would mean that she had feelings of… things other than hate toward Hiei. And she knew very well that that was not true…

Suddenly, the air altered around the four. They jumped back, their eyes searching the room, but the search was futile. They were searching for something they could not see. The four began to fade out of reality, as a scene from the past unfolded in front of them.

* * *

Yuki was storming toward Akio's room, the rage still clearly etched in every movement and deeply imbedded into her sapphire eyes. Her hands were in fists, nails biting deep into flesh, craving small half-moon marks into her palms.

Yuki suddenly saw Yasuo coming down the hallway and called out to him angrily as she passed him.

"Hello, lover boy," she mocked as she stopped right in front of him, intending to let a little of her anger out on him.

Yasuo's baby blue eyes widened. "What did you call me?"

She snorted. "That's right, I _know_. I've known all along. And now, Lord Akio will know."

Yuki brushed passed him, moving toward Akio's chambers. Yasuo, in a sudden act of violence, which was surprising since he was always so gentle, reached out and grabbed her arm painfully tight, stopping her where she was.

"You can't do that," he told her firmly.

"Oh, I can, and I will," she spat at him, her eyes flashing with anger. "If I can't be happy, then goddamnit neither will you."

"What are you talking about?" Yasuo asked, bewildered.

"She doesn't even know how good she has it! How lucky she is! She can have any man she wants, any wealthy lord, and she picks _you_," Yuki declared, spitting out the last word like it were an insult.

"You're jealous of her and that's why you'll ruin her? Akio'll throw her out and her family will probably disown her. You'd do that to someone?" he asked, starting to get very angry as his grip tightened even more.

"It was her choice, not mine. She's a _noble_, Yasuo," she told him plainly. "She knew the risks she was taking when she got into this and she took those risks because of you. Now, the consequences of those risks are going to come to pass."

"Don't do it, Yuki," he pleaded with her, "please."

Yuki eyed him for a long moment. He really did love that girl, if this idea of "love" actually existed. But no one should have happiness when she could not. Well, if she couldn't break them up that way then…

"I won't tell him…," Yuki said as Yasuo's grip loosened slightly, "…as long as you break things off with her yourself."

Yasuo's grip tightened once more. "You know I can't do that."

"You have a choice. Break things off yourself, or Lord Akio will do it for you. It's a choice of her being shunned by everyone around her and you getting punished, or her feeling a sense of betrayal. And, of course, if you choose to break things off, you can't mention anything about me. Which do you choose?"

He let go of her arm, throwing it away from him as though it were something vile and disgusting. "Fine, I'll do it," he spat out.

An evil smile came upon her features. "And, Yasuo?"

He glanced back at her with cold eyes.

"Make it hurt."

* * *

The four of them were unconscious on the floor after being thrown out of the past. Slowly, each awoke and got to their feet. They talked briefly about what happened until Botan decided to leave.

"I think I'm going to go back and tell the others about this," Botan said as she disappeared down the hallway.

Kagome glanced at Kurama. "Come on," she said, tugging him toward the opposite direction Botan went. Sango could only follow.

"Where are we going?" Kurama asked, one eyebrow raised.

"To see what happens next, of course," she told him as though it were an obvious fact, tugging his arms as she practically ran down the hallway. "We're going to Miya's room."

"Do you think that's wise?" he asked.

"If it might help figure out the puzzle that is this house, I'll take my chances. Plus I'm curious," Kagome told him.

"There's always that saying, curiosity killed the cat," Kurama said in a warning tone.

"Nah, it didn't kill the cat, curiosity made the kitten," she teased and stopped for a moment to kiss him thoroughly.

Sango rolled her eyes and said, "oh, get a room."

Kagome drew back and laughed at Sango's comment as all three rushed to Miya's room.

* * *

Kagome threw open the door to Miya's room with Kurama and Sango not too far behind. A warm breeze surrounded them and Kagome turned her head curiously to see the doors to the balcony were open. The bedroom door slammed shut abruptly while an invisible force grabbed Sango and threw her outside, the balcony doors shutting behind her.

Kagome turned in perplexity to Kurama, but found Yasuo in his stead, while she felt a chill go through her as she became Lady Miya.

It had been three months since they had started their secret relationship, three months since she had given into Yasuo after feeling so much guilt. She felt as though she had betrayed Lord Akio by loving Yasuo, but he never made any claim to her or ever done anything that signaled they might have a relationship. Gradually, she had stopped resisting him and she had fallen for Yasuo and now they carried out their relationship in secret.

Miya smiled warmly as she saw him, not seeing how tense he was. She put her arms around him and lifted up on her toes so that she could kiss him quickly. That was when she felt how taut he was as she held him. She stepped back so that she could look into his face without having to crane her neck too much, studying him.

His face was a mask of blankness, hiding whatever he was feeling and his eyes were an icy blue as he regarded her, not holding their usual gentle appearance. His whole body was stiff as she held him and a hand came down to grip her arm tightly, tugging her away from him.

She looked at him perplexed as she stumbled backward, trying to regain her balance so she did not fall. His head was tilted downward slightly, his black bangs hanging over his eyes, hiding them from view.

"Yasuo?" she said, bewildered and partially panicked as she gazed upon him.

He could not let any emotion show, or he would wind up taking her into his embrace, never letting go and not caring what Yuki did. But that could not happen, for Miya's sake and for his. They knew this moment would come eventually, but it never seemed real when they were so caught up in passion of it all. He could not let Yuki tell the lord, though, so he had to end this now. He only wished she could know why he was breaking things off.

He lifted his now cold blue eyes to hers and she took a hesitant step back, as though frightened of what was about to come. Deep down he felt a pang of guilt, but he ignored it.

"This isn't working," he said plainly.

"What…?" Miya said, then realization hit her and she whispered, "no…"

Emotions washed over her, feelings of dread, confusion, and distress, among others. Tentatively, Miya raised a hand, meaning to touch his cheek, but he knocked her hand away while taking a step back. Tears began forming behind her eyes, but she did not let them fall, still not believing what was plain in front of her.

She moved closer to him, her arms reaching for him in a pathetic display, but he only moved farther away from her and her arms dropped to her sides.

"It's over, _Lady_ Miya," Yasuo told her icily.

The tears spilled from her eyes, trailing down her cheeks and splashing onto the floor. Miya took a step back, putting yet more distant between the two.

"No, no…. This can't be…" she whispered.

He turned and left the room, going through the connecting door to his own room, closing the door firmly behind him.

Miya went to the balcony doors and flung them open, staggering outside as she sobbed. To her surprise, Yuki was there, sitting on the balcony and Miya turned to her, startled. The female servant was about to leave, but Miya shook her head in a no gesture, telling her not to, that she did not mind. The two had never once spoken over the three months Miya had resided in the house, but now both shared equal silence, confused by their feelings for the men in their lives.

Yuki watched the sun as it sunk into the dark, leaving only night in its path, though every once and awhile glanced at the noble standing beside her. Originally, Yuki had been out on her balcony to be able to listen in and see if Yasuo held up his end of their… agreement, but now, she stayed sitting with her chin resting on the balcony's railing, sneaking looks at Lady Miya, who stood beside her.

Miya could not believe it; she didn't understand. What had happened? What had changed his attitude so drastically that he just… left her like this, feeling alone and hurt as tears threatened to come. Why after all this time had he decided to leave her now? Before he had never seemed to care if Lord Akio found out, he was willingly to take all risks to be with her. Did… did he not care anymore? Somewhere along the way, had he stopped loving her?

She hated Ryu, hated him with such a vengeance like the world had never seen before and yet Yuki's heart felt broken. Looking over at Miya as silent tears trailed down her cheeks, Yuki felt something she rarely felt, guilt. Just because she was angry and had been separated from Ryu, did not mean she had a right to do what she had done to Miya…

Quietly, Yuki got up and left the room, leaving the brokenhearted noble behind.

* * *

The three spirits let them go, so that the Kagome, Kurama, and Sango became themselves again. They met back in Miya's room as Kagome wiped the tears from her eyes that Miya had generated. Gently, Kurama brushed away a tear that was running down her face, his thumb smoothing over her cheek tenderly.

They were about to speak when another scene began unfolding itself in front of them. Instead of being possessed, the people formed in front of them, first bringing them to Yasuo as he worked later that night.

* * *

It was late at night as Yasuo finished cleaning the kitchen. The kitchen was dark, only a few candles lit to light the room, but he did not need to see all that well to push a rag across the floor.

He lifted his arm to his forehead as he wiped the sweat off his brow and got to his feet, throwing the rag into the sink. Yasuo felt oddly numb after speak with Miya… the Lady, he corrected himself, a few hours ago, but he was glad for that. The completely vulnerable look on her face… her arms reaching for him… her tears… a faint sting hit his heart, a bad sign, meaning the numbness was fading.

He heard something behind him and turned swiftly around, his eyes searching the dark. A woman stood in the darkness, and by her outline Yasuo could tell she was quite curvy, wearing a tight dress. Yuki. She took a step closer to him, her face half-illuminated by the candlelight and her arms wrapped around her stomach, holding herself in a helpless manner, something that was unlike her.

About to open his mouth to speak, Yuki beat him to it.

"Go to her," she told him quietly.

"What?" he asked.

Yuki would not look him in the eyes, her gaze firmly fixated on the floor. It was the first time he had ever seen her look so emotionally exposed and not look someone in the eyes in a defiant way.

"I was wrong, alright?" Yuki snapped, meeting his eyes for a second, then quickly looked back at the floor, her voice quiet once more. "I was wrong. She needs you. And it's hurting her. What you're doing now… what I made you do…. It's worse than Akio finding out."

Yasuo just watched her curiously. Did she have a point to her coming here and telling him this?

"You won't tell?" he inquired.

"No," she told him. Yasuo did not move, not sure what he should do now. She glanced up at him. "Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Go to her!"

He did not need to be told twice. Yasuo rushed to the door, only stopping to look back at Yuki once, who had leaned heavily against the wall, sliding down it until she sat on the floor. Not waiting another moment, Yasuo ran to Miya's room.

Tears ran down Yuki's face as she thought of Ryu, then her anger came back. Her fists shaking, she thought, _I'll get you back, Ryu_.

Brushing away the last of the tears, she headed towards Lord Jiro's room.

* * *

The scene altered and changed, showing the three a balcony pooled in moonlight with Miya standing there in a nightgown, tightly holding onto the railing.

Wait… this scene seemed familiar to Kagome. Then it came to her that it was the same scene she had seen that night while that eerie song had played. Then the two had turned into living dead before her eyes, but now it was without all the terrifying aspects.

Kagome watched the scene repeat itself, watched as Yasuo gazed upon the noble, and her tear-filled eyes met with his, full of sorrow. He ran to Miya and swept her up in his arms, kissing her deeply, which she returned, eager for his touch.

After a few moments, he tried to let go and move away but she had a tight hold on him. She had a desperate hold on him as he tried to back away, but he saw it was useless. He drew back slightly and leaned his forehead against hers.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry," Yasuo whispered to her. "Yuki found out… and she threatened to tell the lord if I didn't break things off. I'm so sorry."

Miya did not care. All she cared about was that he was back with her now. She faintly wondered when she had gotten so attached to him, but it did not really matter now, all that matter was that he was there, with her.

"But… she did have a point. We can't go on like this forever. He'll find out sooner and later, and one or both of us is going to be punished. We can't do this anymore," he told her. "I wish we could go on… but we just _can't_, Miya."

She nodded her head slightly, showing her understanding, then sobbed twice before quieting herself. Yasuo lifted a hand and gently brushed away the tears that would not stop coming.

She looked so vulnerable… all her feelings showed plainly and he could not help but feel guilty. He was the one who had pushed her into their relationship… and now he was the one to leave.

Abruptly, he embraced her again, kissing the side of her face, going down to her neck and trailing kisses back upward as he spoke soft words in between kisses.

"I'm sorry," he said, kissing the side of her neck, "I wish… I wish for a lot of things." He kissed her cheek, taking the salty sweetness of the tears into his mouth. "But above all, I wish that we could stay…" Another kiss on her closed eyelids. Choked laughter escaped her, halfway between sadness and the giddy feeling that rose in her. "…as we are now."

Miya buried her face in his shirt, soaking the front of it. He held her tightly, though continued talking. She just wanted him to stop. She did not want to know all this, she did not want to face the reality of the situation.

"But you're a noble and I'm just a servant. It would have never worked out," he whispered to her.

Her hands were fisted in his shirt, but he managed to untangle himself from her and move away. She stumbled backward away from him as more sobs escaped her.

Yasuo held out his hand as though he wanted to stroke her cheek, but let it drop before it reached her and moved away.

"I'm sorry, Miya."

He left her there, more broken than before. It hurt more knowing the real reason, knowing that it was not all a dream and that they truly would not be together.

Her dream fantasy had been erased, living and staying with Yasuo, although she knew it would never have come true. Now, she had to face reality and do what she had come to the lord's house to do in the first place.

Marry Lord Akio.

* * *

Kurama, Sango, and Kagome all landed on the floor unsteadily and Kagome and Sango tumbled to the ground, though Kurama was gracefully enough to keep his balance. He helped both girls to their feet and only moments after Kagome launched herself at him, hugging him tightly.

She shook and Kurama held her to him, though confused as to why she was shaking. It took him only another moment to realize she was crying.

Before he could open his mouth to say anything, he heard her mumble something into his shirt.

"You won't… you won't leave me like Yasuo did… will you?" she asked, raising her head to study his face, her eyes moist. "Even if… something bad happens… or Inuyasha finds out. You won't leave?"

Her voice was unsure as she said it, making it more of a question then a statement.

He raised his hand and brushed the back of his fingertips across her cheek gently, smoothing out her tears. He cupped the side of her face in his hand while telling her firmly, "never. I'd never leave." He smiled slightly then and added, "in fact, you'd probably have a hard time getting rid of me if you wanted to."

Kagome smiled warmly at him, knowing he spoke the truth.

Sango cleared her throat behind them, making the two look back at her.

"Sorry to interrupted but we should go back though. That time traveling… or whatever you want to call it," she added before Kurama could jump in and explain what it really was. "It ate up most of the day. So maybe we should go now get some sleep…" Her stomach growled. "…or food."

Kurama noted the exhaustion in Kagome's eyes and agreed with Sango. Kurama and Sango said a quick goodbye to Kagome and headed down to the kitchen while Kagome went to her room to sleep with a goodnight kiss from Kurama.

* * *

Kagome opened the door and stumbled into the room, her eyelids heavy and her body desperate for sleep, though the sight on her bed sent a jolt through her, giving her a boost in energy.

"Hi, Kura," Kagome said as she moved cautiously toward the bed.

Kura giggled and waved to her. Then Kagome noticed a second person on her bed.

"Hi, Kagome!" Shippo said cheerfully as he launched himself into her arms. "You ran off again like you've always been doing lately so I came into your room to see if you were here, but you weren't. Kura was here though and we've been talking for awhile."

Kagome felt a twinge of guilt. She hadn't been paying much attention to Shippo lately like she should have. She just had… other things on her mind.

"So what have you been talking about?" Kagome asked.

"Shippo was telling me about the Feudal Era. Sounds exciting!" Kura said happily.

Kagome sat on the bed next to Kura and let Shippo slide out of her arms and onto the bed.

"I wish I could see it," Kura commented, her mood suddenly going from happy to moping.

"Well, when we get out of this house, you can come back with us!" Shippo told her.

"Really?" Kura said, her baby blue eyes full of hope when she looked from Shippo to Kagome.

"Sure!" Kagome answered, finding the cheerfulness contagious. She had serious doubts that the little girl was the killer. She was probably only a victim in this horror story they were living.

Kura pouted again, looking down at her feet that were swinging back and forth, off the bed. "Well… I don't know what happens to me after this. If you do figure out who the house is and defeat the person… then what happens to me?"

Shippo looked at Kagome expectantly, as though she would have the answer.

"I don't know," Kagome said truthfully.

"I mean, the others are just floating spirits with no idea what they are, floating absentmindedly between life and death, except Miya and Yuki…"

"What about Miya and Yuki?" Kagome said, suddenly paying very close attention.

"Oh, no, I've said too much!" Kura exclaimed, and she looked slightly alarmed. Her eyes were wide and she looked frantically around as though something might jump out at her.

She jumped off the bed quickly and scampered off, humming as she did until she phased through the wall, disappearing, leaving a confused girl and kitsune behind.

Now that was a strange, strange mystical child.


	24. To Trust

_To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.  
_—George MacDonald

* * *

_**Deadly Games**_

**Chapter Twenty-Four: To Trust**

* * *

"How could we have gotten lost?" Miroku asked the rest that were with him.

"I blame the fact that Yusuke's here with us," Sango replied in a mutter. "He's probably cursed us all with his lousy sense of direction."

"I can hear you, you know," Yusuke responded loudly from in front of the two. "Why are you always in a dark mood lately?"

Sango glared at his back and opened her mouth when Kurama said from behind her, "don't bicker. You'll only give yourselves—and those around you—a headache."

She closed her mouth once more grudgingly and the four walked on, lost in the long halls of the mansion.

"The house must have switched the paths around on us," Yusuke muttered. "I swear this was the shortcut to the common room before."

"Well, it is demonic, so it's only fair the house does some dastardly deeds," Miroku said rather dryly.

They continued on, Miroku and Yusuke joking around with a few comments inputted from Kurama, while Sango only listened to her companions talk.

Something caught her eye on the shadowed wall of the house and she turned sharply toward it. Sango could have sworn she saw something small and furry crawl across the dark wall… She dismissed the idea, seeing nothing of the kind when she closely inspected the wall.

A hand was placed gently on her shoulder and Sango once again spun around, only to be face to face with Miroku.

"Something wrong, my dear Sango?"

"No," she responded, but then her eyebrow began to twitch in an annoyed fashion. "But there will be if your hand slides _any farther down_," she growled at him.

"A little touchy, are we?"

"No, I would say _you're_ doing most of the touching," she told him as she removed his hand that had made its way to her rear, squeezing it painfully, then threw it away from her. She then used her free hand to smack him hard across the cheek.

Miroku rubbed his sore cheek and said, "it's been awhile since you slapped me, I forgot how hard you hit."

She lifted her hand again and said with fake sweetness, "would you like another demonstration?"

Yusuke grabbed her wrist before she could slap him and she frowned at being over-powered by the Spirit Detective.

"As wonderful as this conversation is, let's not have it, alright?" Yusuke told them.

Sango yanked her hand back and crossed her arms defiantly, saying, "I won't as long as the _lecher_ over there behaves himself."

"Depends on what kind of behavior you mean," Miroku said with an eyebrow raised suggestively.

Sango advanced on him, her temper rising, but two hands grabbed her shoulders from behind, holding her firmly in place.

"Don't kill him," Kurama told her, though there was a small smile on his face that she could not see from behind. "It's not worth it."

"Yes, but it'll bring me so much satisfaction," Sango said through gritted teeth.

"You shouldn't let him get to you so much," Kurama said softly to her when Miroku was distracted, speaking with Yusuke. "And I'm not only talking about Miroku."

Her eyes widened as his hands gently squeezed her shoulders. He _knew_? How? Sango sincerely doubted Hiei would tell him… and Kagome was the only other person who knew….Had Kagome told him? No, she wouldn't have, not after seeing how shaken up she was after their discussion. So Kurama must have found out on his own. Was it _that_ obvious?

Sango was about to turn around to face him and inquire about that fact, when she heard a large crash in front of her. Inuyasha, with Kagome and Shippo on his back, and a black blur, which she knew as Hiei, were making their way over to them quickly after bursting through a wall.

Hiei stopped in front of Sango, glancing from her to Kurama, then to his hands on her shoulders in a hard glare, but Kurama was more focused on Inuyasha and Kagome, who also landed in front of them. Although he had a blank expression on his face, the way his hands tightened—even ever so slightly—on her shoulders told Sango what he thought about Kagome on Inuyasha's back.

Before Inuyasha even had time to open his mouth and explain what was going on, Hiei moved from Sango to Yusuke in a flash, drawing his sword along the way and killing a small black creature that had just flung itself at Yusuke.

"Ahh—" Yusuke began, looking at the now dead creature on the floor, oozing black blood. "What the hell is that!"

The remaining three—four, counting Kirara—came rushing up to the others from the common room when they heard the crash. They did not get a chance to inquire before the talking continued.

"It's called a demon. You've been hunting them for the past year or so. Try to keep up," Miroku said with a slight smile.

"Ha ha," Yusuke said dryly, without much humor.

Kagome got off of Inuyasha and slowly made her way over to the small creature on the floor, looking at it curiously. The creature lay motionless, killed by the sword on impact. It never had a chance against Hiei's quickness. It was small, no bigger than Kagome's hand, and looked like a black ball of fuzz.

Cautiously, Kurama picked up the small fuzz-ball, careful not to touch the blood coming from it, lest it be harmful.

"I've seen these small demons before," Kurama informed them. "They're poisonous and can kill anything if they bite it, even demons, if they break skin and hold on for too long." He flipped the creature in his hand, searching through all of the thick, tangled black fur. Seeming to find what he was looking for, he parted the fur and showed them four small fangs in a small mouth, two on top and two on bottom. "There's really no way to tell where the fangs are while they're attacking, making them extremely dangerous." He glanced up at the shadowed wall. "And they never come alone."

At his words, the rest unconsciously glanced around the room, searching for more of the little critters.

"Attack of the furballs," Yusuke muttered and someone snickered, most likely Kuwabara.

A hiss sounded and another fuzz demon launched itself at the group, but Kurama, anticipating its attack, cut it down with a flick of his rose whip. It was not long before more and more began attacking and the group had been pushed back as they all tried to fight with their weapons. There seemed to be hundreds of them, and every time one was killed, it was as though five more appeared out of the shadows to take its place. Botan used her oar to swat them away, Shippo used foxfire, and only Shizuru had no weapon to keep the small demons at bay with.

They were getting pushed farther and farther back as more of the demons showed themselves and began to viscously attack them. They did not seem to be able to see, but they were able to sense their spirit and, in some of their cases, demonic energy, and used that to guide themselves to their prey.

A black fuzz attached itself to Kagome's bow that she had been using to swat and shoot at the enemy. She tried to shake it off, but its poison began to dissolve the wood. Reluctantly, she threw the bow to the floor far from her, but that left her defenseless. Botan called out a warning to her, but she did not hear. A demon was heading straight toward her and Kagome not seeing the danger in front of her—

—when Kirara, in her large form, stepped in front of her, intercepting the demon's attack.

Kirara hissed at it and shook violently until the demon let go of her, though the cat demon stumbled backward. She changed back to her petit form and Kagome gently picked her up, hugging the cat youkai to her while whispering her thanks. She did not seem to be hurt too bad. The creature had not held on to her long enough to cause too much harm, though it was still having a negative effect on her.

They were quickly being over powered by the small black creatures. There were too many coming at them, too swiftly. One of them would get bit sooner or later and it would all go downhill from there.

"Is it just me, or does anyone else think we should get the hell out of here?" Yusuke yelled to be heard over the screeching of the fuzz creatures.

That was all the rest needed to hear. They began to turn and run from the fuzz ball darting across the room, Kagome clutching Kirara to her as they did. Kurama's rose whip and an occasional blast of Yusuke's shotgun covered their backs, but more fuzzes crept out of the shadows and launched themselves at their prey. Hiei and Inuyasha's swords kept those in front at bay and killed those that dared come close, though the group had to constantly stop to fight.

"We'll never make it to any safety if we keep having to stop," Botan exclaimed over the noise.

Most of them realized it was true, the rest not wanting to think about it. Shizuru watched as a small demon latched itself onto Botan, clinging to her arm, but let go after it had impaled the skin.

"Botan, no!" Shizuru called out as her friend began to slump to the floor. Inuyasha caught her before she fell completely, though her body was entirely limp. It was unconscious however, not dead. _Not dead,_ she thought, relieved. But for how long?

She watched as the others still fought desperately, all except Kagome, who had lost her weapon and was sticking close behind Kurama. Inuyasha was also having trouble holding onto Botan while still fighting. The others were doing no better. They would not last long.

"Keep running. Get Botan to safety," Shizuru instructed the others.

"What…?" Kuwabara began.

"No," Miroku said firmly, but Shizuru was not paying attention to the monk.

"Go," she told them just as firmly, pushing Inuyasha with the ferry girl in his arms in the other direction. She headed back in the other direction, away from the group. The creatures stopped in their tracks, contemplating where to go for only a moment then turned, going after Shizuru, an easier prey.

"No!" Kuwabara exclaimed, finally understanding. She was going to give herself… so that they could escape. Kuwabara turned to Hiei, about to tell him—no, command him—to retrieve his sister quickly before she was hurt, but it was already too late.

The demons clamped onto her skin and still she ran the other way, drawing them away from the others. More and more attached themselves to her, until they were all over her body, but she still moved forward until she grew too faint to continue walking.

First she fell to her knees as a wave of dizziness went through her. She closed her eyes for a moment then opened them again to find that she was face down on the ground. She never remembered falling.

The poison did not hurt too much, only the demons' bites throbbed, but the poison was having a quick weakening affect on her. As the darkness began to take her, she found herself pondering without much else to do.

The demon creature had not held on to Botan long enough to kill, much the same as what happen to Kirara, but Shizuru had to wonder why it did not. It clearly could have. It could have killed her without anyone the wiser until too late, but it did not. Why?

Then abruptly she made the connection. The connection between the kills in the group. And just as she realized it, she felt herself slip away, the knowledge dying with her.

* * *

The rest of the group had run, feeling ashamed as they did, but they could have done nothing for Shizuru. She had made up her mind, had made her own decision. She chose to save them… in exchange for her own life.

They had gone through the first door they had seen, which turned out to lead into a small storage closet, a dead end. Right after they all piled in, Miroku had slapped a warding spell on the door and a bluish light surrounded the room, a barrier to keep the demons out.

Meanwhile, Kuwabara was having a bit of a breakdown. No one could blame him. He just recently had two very important people in his life die so he was entitled to a breakdown or two. Botan might have been in the same condition, after all three of her friends had perished, but she was still out cold.

Kagome was still clutching Kirara to her, the small neko youkai fading in and out of consciousness. She once again looked at Botan, but was startled to see she was not alone on the floor. There was a little girl by her side.

"Kura," she said, surprised.

"I think the ferry girl feels lost most of the time while she's here…. She can't see any of the spirits… but the house likes to keep things a secret and has power over all…" Kura said, mostly to herself. Then she turned to Kagome and said much more cheerfully, "hiya, Kagome!"

"What are you doing here?" she asked the little girl.

"To see you. And have some fun," she said as though it were an obvious answer. She then added, "it's been so lonely when there's no one here…"

"I guess it would be," Kagome said uncertainly.

Yusuke from where he was sitting leaning against the wall, peaked opened one eye to regard Kagome. His face looked exhausted, but he still managed to give her an odd look.

"Uh, Kagome? Who are talking to?" Yusuke inquired.

"The little girl, Kura," Kagome told him, slightly puzzled by his question.

"Where?" Shippo complained. He thought the little girl was a lot of fun, but they couldn't play if he could not see her.

"But… but she's right there!" Kagome said, pointing to her.

Kura giggled and said, "they can't see me, dummy!"

"Oh," Kagome responded, rather lamely. Kura giggled once again and Kagome crouched down to be on eye level with her. "Well, why not?" she asked the little, blonde-haired girl.

"Because it's more fun when they can't," Kura explained, as though it was the most simplistic answer in the world.

"Any news or help on how we can get rid of these fuzz-balls following us?" Kagome asked her.

Kura titled her head to the side as she considered. In that time, she began to become visible to the others, proving that Kagome had not gone insane and wasn't talking to herself.

"Well, just kill the bad fuzz-balls!" she told them, giggling. Then she hummed a melody that turned into a wordless song. Then as abruptly as she came, she disappeared.

"What do we do? We can't stay here forever," Yusuke said.

"Yes, but there's too many to fight single-handedly and if just our fighters go, they have a larger target range to attack and can easily wound us," Kurama responded.

"And then what would us that can't fight do?" Shippo asked, looking at Botan and then to the crying Kuwabara.

"This is idiotic. I'm not going to wait here like a coward for the little, pathetic demons to go away," Hiei said, reaching for the door handle, meaning to use his speed to kill the demons faster than they could find him, instead of waiting in the closet.

"I'll go too," Sango said, rising from her spot on the floor.

"No," he said simply.

"You need someone to cover your back," she argued.

"No, then I'd have to watch out for you too," he said, "which I won't and then you'll die." Pause. He continued, "maybe you should come after all, slayer."

He said it with a slight smirk that left no one doubting his words, though in truth he did not really mean them. She, however, believed him.

"I can hold my own," she informed him angrily taking another step toward him and the door. Trying to convince him, she continued, "plus, if you're too fast, they won't come out of hiding. You need bait and I can do that _and_ take care of myself. _You_ need someone to watch your back."

"Fine," he said sharply, then snapped, "sure you won't stick a knife in it?"

Sango rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right," she said sarcastically, "you're too fast anyway."

"And you think I won't leave you on your own so one of those things can kill you?" he asked bitterly.

There was complete silence in the room for a while, no one speaking, only listening to the exchange between the two. Nothing could be heard but the creatures' almost silent crawling outside and Kuwabara's sobs.

Sango met Hiei's eyes, brown clashing with crimson. "I trust you," she said quietly.

Her words rang true. She had said before that she could never trust him, but deep down she knew she could. And when that thought passed through her mind, it surprised her.

Shock grew in Hiei's eyes quickly, remembering her words from before.

_"What's the matter, slayer? Don't trust me?" Hiei asked, his grip becoming more painful as his nails dug into her skin._

_She brought her face close to his, their lips barely apart and said low and menacingly, "I could never trust a disgusting _demon_ like you."_

He nodded sharply to her once, schooling his emotions once again so that his face was perfectly blank. His acceptance to her help surprised the rest, none of them understanding what were so important about the three words she had uttered.

Miroku opened the barrier, just large enough for both of them to slip through. Hiei walked out into the dark, but before Sango could disappear outside Miroku caught her arm gently. He did not try anything lecherous and his eyes held concern as well as the pain that lingered there from Shizuru demise. Sango looked at him in an inquiring way.

"Be careful," he told her and gave her arm a small squeeze before he let her go and closed the barrier behind them. It felt cowardly to do so and made him feel like they were abandoning Hiei and Sango, but he could not raise the barrier and fight. He still had to think of those in the storage room that were defenseless or too broken to fight.

Sango removed her hiraikotsu from her back and held it in front of her. Though the creatures were remaining awfully quiet at the moment, when they attacked she would use the large boomerang-like weapon to swat them away. Hiei stood absolutely still, not even having his katana out, but he could remove it from its sheath before any of the demons would be able to get within five feet of him. They stood back to back, so that one was facing one half of the room, and the other, the other side.

Then the ambush began, dozens upon dozen throwing themselves at the two, with hundreds more crawling toward the pair. Hiei was quick and Sango's weapon was large enough to keep a great number of them at bay, but compared to how many were coming, they did not stand a chance. No matter how many they killed, there were more to come.

"This isn't working…" Sango said nervously, getting pushed back once again by the fuzz demons.

Hiei landed on the floor, finally staying in one place after moving so rapidly around, standing facing one direction and her facing the other.

"Hold on," he told her.

He called forth the Living Flame, and a ring of black fire appeared around them. The wall of fire was swirling with power and Sango backed away from it, feeling its power and not wanting to get harmed by it. By moving back though, it brought her closer to Hiei.

The fire demon turned to her and Sango spun around to look at him, only to find that his body was covered in the powerful flames. The flames stretched out and licked at Sango's wrist and she shrunk away. She did not want to be by the fire, but moving away only brought her closer to the wall of flames that could also injury her.

Hiei extended a hand to her, palm facing upward. "Do you trust me?"

She had said she did before, but… was it true? Those were only words after all and many creatures could lie easily with words.

Sango slowly lifted up her hand and placed it lightly in the fire-covered one. "Yes."

Abruptly his hand tightened around hers and he tugged at her hand roughly, bringing her to him forcefully. Sango was pressed against him, his arms encircling her and holding her close so that his power radiating off his body covered Sango also. The flames surrounded her without harming her.

Hiei closed his two eyes, while his Jagan shown through his bandana. The wall of flames spread out to cover the entire room, killing everything in its path and the creatures screeched in pain as they burned to death.

As they let out their last screeches, Sango could not help but hold onto Hiei slightly tighter, to which he smirked. The living flame surrounding them began to fade out, fulfilling its purpose. He was about to make a comment about her weakness that would lead to a conversation that would probably end with a death threat from her, but he caught sigh of her face. Her eyes, focused on something behind him, widened. He followed her gaze to see that his flames turned purple and began to dance and take shape, though he was no longer controlling them. Someone—_something_ had taken control of it.

The fire began to spell out two words.

_Three Down._

Another one of the house's taunting messages.

Kurama felt the heat and power from outside and when it died out he told the others that it was probably safe to go out now. He and Kagome, with Kirara in her arms, were first to leave the small, enclosed space.

Kagome slowly opening the door, but the two paused in the doorway after seeing the two figures swirling in flames and standing in the middle of the room, very close together. Sango looked at the two, then at Hiei, and they quickly moved apart as the flame around Hiei began to disintegrate.

The rest piled out of the room, noticing the many small demon corpses littered around the room. Sango carefully took the out-cold Kirara from Kagome's arms, while Yusuke held the unconscious ferry girl. They wordlessly looked around the room at the demon bodies.

Kagome turned to see Miroku move away from the group and began walking.

"Where are you going?" Kagome inquired, taking a step toward him.

He paused in motion and without turning back, responded softly, "for the body."

* * *

Kagome slowly and quietly closed her bedroom door and tiptoed down the hallway, hardly making any noise. She knew however that "hardly any noise" to a human could still alert any kind of demon. Luckily, no one noticed and she made her way to his door without any one the wiser.

It had been a long day; one filled with grief and Kagome, for one, was tired of it. She hated feeling that way, yet she could not make it go away.

She and Kurama had determined that them spending the night together was too risky, but tonight she did not care. She crawled onto the bed next to him and kissed him softly on the lips to wake him.

He opened his eyes slowly, only to be staring into Kagome's face. "Kagome?" he asked. "What is it?"

"I'm frightened," she whispered to him.

He picked the sheets up so she could crawl under them then put his arms around her, bringing her close. "We'll get out of here. I promise," he told her.

"Yes, but how many more have to die before that happens? I don't want anyone to die," she told him. Her eyes welled up with tears. "I don't want _you_ to die."

"I won't die," he told her, giving her a comforting squeeze and then kissing her softly.

"Do you promise?" she asked once he broke the kiss.

"Yes."

Smiling slightly, she curled up next to him and fell into a dreamless sleep.


	25. Jealousy

_**Deadly Games**_

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Jealousy**

* * *

Kagome woke up to chills running out and down her spine as Kurama lightly played his fingertips up and down her back. Although he was more than half-asleep, his fingertips still brushed slowly across her skin, his hands finding their way to bare skin after pushing her shirt slightly up.

Her legs tangled in his and her arms wrapped around his waist. She didn't want to get up. If anything, she wanted to stay in the moment forever. In keeping their relationship a secret, they did not always have time for things such as these.

She brought a small hand up to tangle in his long red locks and he stirred in his sleep. Slowly, he blinked open his emerald eyes, staring down at her as he did.

"Good morning," he told her with a lazy smile.

He brought his lips down to meet hers and she eagerly returned the kiss. He removed a hand from her back to bring to her face instead, trailing softly across her cheek. Her hand went to the nape of his neck, her fingertips teasing the sensitive skin. He kissed her more enthusiastically, his tongue exploring her mouth. She squeaked slightly in surprise when he pressed her closer in one swift movement.

His hands moved to grip her waist and things heated up. Mouth meeting mouth, a soft caress, a moan of pleasure. Kagome fell onto her back with Kurama positioned on top of her. A hot, searing tongue across her neck caused her to let out a soft moan.

A soft growl came from behind them. They both froze.

In a second, Kurama was hauled off Kagome and thrown into the wall, putting a dent in it. Before he even had time to straighten himself as he slumped to the floor, Inuyasha picked him up by the throat and shoved the kitsune into the wall with enough force to break a normal human. Inuyasha's golden eyes shone with a murderous glint.

For the first time, Kagome was afraid of Inuyasha and the look in his eyes. She let out a scream.

"Inuyasha!" she shouted.

But Inuyasha paid no attention to her, only took Kurama from the wall, his hand squeezing tighter on his throat, and slammed him back into it for a third time.

"Inuyasha, get off him!" Kagome demanded, though there was a trace of pleading in her voice as she began to panic.

Inuyasha let go of Kurama with one hand and punched him in the face. Kurama spit out the blood that welled up in his mouth and met Inuyasha's eyes defiantly, but did not try to get out of his grip.

Kagome climbed off the bed and grabbed onto one of Inuyasha's arms to try and stop him as he lifted his arm to punch Kurama again, but he threw her off him violently. She was thrown painfully against the side of the bed.

Anger filled Kurama's eyes as he watched Kagome fell to the floor. Inuyasha tried to punch Kurama once again, but Kurama caught his fist right before it hit his face. The hanyou growled and he used his other hand to punched Kurama in the stomach. The kitsune slumped to the floor, one arm wrapped around his abdomen.

"Get up," Inuyasha growled harshly through gritted teeth.

The door was thrown open and a distraught Botan, Sango, who looked like she had only woken up five minutes ago and thrown any clothes on, and Yusuke, soon followed by the rest, rushed into the room. They stopped at the door, not sure what was going on or what they should do.

Kagome did not notice them. Her eyes, misty with forming tears, saw only Kurama.

As Kurama staggered to his feet, Kagome screamed, "Inuyasha, stop!"

Inuyasha grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, forcing him up, and raised a clawed hand, ready to plunge it into Kurama. Why would he not fight back? The fact that he would not fight only angered the hanyou more.

Inuyasha sunk his claws into Kurama's stomach. Kagome let out a strangled cry.

"Kagome, sit him!" Sango yelled at her as Kagome tried to scramble onto her feet, even though her entire back ached.

In her moment of panic, Kagome had forgotten she had power of Inuyasha. She took advantage of it now.

"SIT!" she screamed.

Inuyasha fell to the floor with such force it was shocking that he did not go through the floor and into the room below. Kurama was also sitting on the floor, his arm clutching his wounded stomach as crimson poured out of him. Kagome ran to him and fell to her knees beside Kurama.

Inuyasha got shakily to his feet only to have Hiei's sword two inches from his face. Inuyasha reached for his own, but got another sit command thrown at him from Kagome.

Hiei still pointed his sword toward the hanyou until Sango moved in front of Inuyasha.

"Slayer," Hiei said warningly. His katana was pointed at Sango since she had stepped in front of him.

She did not respond, but she also did not move out of the way. She took a step closer to Hiei so that his katana was inches from her neck.

"He spilled Kurama's blood, now I'll spill his," the fire demon told her.

"No."

"Get out of my way!" he said angrily.

"Inuyasha's saved me and put up with me after all the stupid things I did. I'm _not_ going to let you kill him now," Sango informed Hiei.

Hiei gritted his teeth and touched his sword to her throat, moving her head to the side and exposing her throat more as he did so. Miroku moved to Sango's side in front of Inuyasha. Hiei looked at the monk and growled, but by then Shippo and Kirara had joined the two. Grudgingly, he put his sword away.

"I see where your true allegiance lies," Hiei said, staring at Sango and then Miroku.

Meanwhile, Kagome hesitantly touched Kurama's cheek lightly. He moved his head so that she cupped his cheek instead, closing his eyes to her touch. He opened those startling green eyes a few moments later to regard her.

"Don't cry," he said softly as he wiped away the tears that trailed down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. _This is my fault. I should have never let it go this far._

She watched in distress as the two groups stood on opposite sides, taking part in a fight that should only be between the three of them. The groups had gotten so close in the time they had to spend together, but one feud had broken them apart.

Kurama put his arm around Kagome's waist and she began to edge closer, but abruptly Inuyasha was up again. He grabbed her wrist painfully and dragged her out of the room while Sango called Inuyasha's name angrily.

He dragged her out the door, slamming it behind them, and led her around the house dragging her arm.

"Inuyasha, let go!" she cried out. "Inuyasha—ow! You're hurting me!"

She took a deep breath about to 'sit' him once again, but Inuyasha, anticipating what she was about to do, put his other hand over her mouth. Then he threw her away from him roughly and she stumbled backward into the wall. Luckily, she put her arms out before she hit the wall so her arms took most of the hard impact.

"What is this, Kagome?" he asked through gritted teeth, trying very hard to become calmer.

"What's what?" Kagome asked carefully.

He growled and punched the wall near her head. She flinched.

"Don't play stupid with me," he told her.

Suddenly she got angry. "What does it matter to you? You have your precious Kikyo."

"Don't bring her into this," he told her, taking a step forward.

"Why? It's true. You care so much about her. When she's around, suddenly everyone else disappears. What does it matter what I do?" She crossed her arms, staring at him rebelliously.

"Because _you_ matter to me." His features softened slightly, but she would have none of it.

"Oh, so I'm allowed to sit around, twiddling my thumbs and wait until you're done paying attention to Kikyo and then you'll pay minimum attention to me?" She asked sarcastically.

"You know that's not it." Inuyasha told her, beginning to get angry once again. What he did not know, or was oblivious to, was that that _was_ how things were when Kikyo was around. He continued, "Why'd you do it? Did I do something to piss you off? Well, that doesn't mean you're allowed to go out and fuck the first demon you find."

"I did not—" Kagome began.

"Guess you're a demon magnet, aren't you?" he interrupted, more rage going through him then before. "First Kouga, now Kurama." She loved how he did not include himself. He let out a harsh laugh. "I guess I should be glad you didn't get pissed off at me when we were in the past. Then you would have been off fucking Kouga. Now that—"

He never got to finish. Kagome lifted her hand and slapped him so hard he was forced to take a step back. She was so angry she was shaking with fury and her face had gone red.

"Don't—say—another—word." She said each word harshly and slowly so she would not start yelling, her face inches from his.

He opened his mouth defiantly while grabbing her arm, about to let more of his anger out until he heard a voice behind him.

"Let her go, Inuyasha," the male voice said.

Inuyasha turned around, his white ears pulled back, and his golden eyes piercing. "This doesn't concern you, Spirit Boy."

Yusuke stood not too far away from them, his hand pointed like a gun toward Inuyasha, with the other hand bracing it.

"You wouldn't," Inuyasha challenged.

"Oh, I would," Yusuke said. "Maybe not enough to kill you, but at least to knock you out." He looked at Kagome. "Now, let her go."

"He seems protective of you. Been sleeping with him too behind my back?" Inuyasha said quietly but full of rage to Kagome so that only she could hear.

He let her go abruptly and Kagome moved toward Yusuke. When she turned around to look at Inuyasha, he had already gone.

"You okay?" Yusuke asked evenly, though Kagome could hear the trace of concern in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. From his disbelieving look, she continued, "he wouldn't hurt me." She rubbed her sore back. "At least not intentionally."

She stopped in front Yusuke and there was silence between them. Kagome then leaned heavily on the wall, both her arms hugging her stomach as though that would protect her from all that was happening.

Inuyasha was terribly angry at her. She had lied to him for an extensive amount of time, betrayed their friendship… if not something more. And Kurama. He was hurt because of her. When she had decided to let herself fall deeper in love with Kurama, her troubles about Inuyasha had been, for the most part, over. Now, they all came rushing back.

"…He seemed so angry…. But I guess it's justified," Kagome said softly, her body covered in shadows, making her expression unreadable. However, her voice said it all.

"It's not entirely his fault. I know what it's like for the house to intensify people's anger," he commented.

"You mean this is all the house's doing?" She asked quietly, bringing her eyes up to meet his, her eyes faintly sparkling with small hope.

He wanted to lie to her, tell her that yes, that was the reason, just so she would be happy and not in the miserable state she was in now. But he couldn't lie to her so plainly like that.

"No… the feelings came from him originally. The house just gives him the nudge in the 'right' direction."

A hushed moment.

"I don't know what to do," she whispered.

"Well, I don't know how much I could help. I don't know much about… love." His face turned somber for a moment then he grinned at her, though it looked slightly forced. "At the risk of sounding like someone from one of those sappy teenage movies… follow your heart. It'll answer more questions than you'd think." He paused. "And if anyone asks, you didn't hear that from me."

Yusuke turned to leave, but before he did he stopped in front of Kagome and hugged her. Kagome was too shocked to respond.

In ways, Kagome reminded him of Keiko with her determination… and her fits of anger. He had felt the need to look after her, but lately, he hadn't been doing such a good job.

He kissed her lightly though awkwardly on the cheek. "Just be happy."

He left after that, leaving her all alone in her thoughts, a place where she did not want to be. Every time she thought of Inuyasha the knot in his stomach tightened. She could not leave things off like they had. She knew if she did not speak with him today, he would not talk about it later. She was not sure he would listen to her now, but Kagome had to find a way for him to understand.

Man, was that going to be hard work.

Kagome balled her hands into fists as she began to search for the hanyou, determined to see it through.

* * *

Kagome found Inuyasha outside, sitting near the pond as the sun began to set.

"Inuyasha?" she called softly.

One of Inuyasha's ears twitched, but otherwise he made no move to acknowledge her. Giving her the silent treatment, was he now?

"Hey, Inuyasha!" she said, starting to get annoyed that he was ignoring her.

Still he did not speak. Not even so much as a glance.

"Inuyasha!" she called and kicked him lightly, now entirely pissed off.

He growled softly and pulled at her legs so that she fell to the ground beside him.

"What?" he said harshly.

"We need to talk."

"I think we've said everything that needs to be said," he told her gruffly.

He turned from her. He just didn't want to hear anything she had to say.

Kagome began speaking. "No, we haven't. Inuyasha, I'm in love with Kurama," she told him.

He growled. "How could you do this, Kagome?"

"Do what? Fall in love? It wasn't that hard. At least _he_ pays attention at me."

"If you did this to make me jealous, it's working."

"This isn't about you, Inuyasha!" she exclaimed. He raised an eyebrow and she continued, "well, maybe it is, but that's not _why_ I went to Kurama. I'm in love with him!"

"Stop saying that!"

It was his own fault, really, for not noticing anything sooner and stopping it before it had gone too far. After all, Inuyasha had seen them together a lot… and had noticed his scent on her very frequently, but he had never thought… Correction, he had not wanted to. He didn't want to think that Kagome had found someone else, so he made himself blind to it, refusing to see what was in front of him.

"What? Love?" He did not respond. "I love him. Just because things didn't work out with you and Kikyo, doesn't mean I'm not allowed to have someone too. You can't—"

Inuyasha pulled her roughly toward him and covered her mouth with his while Kagome squeaked with protest. He pinned her to the ground while straddling her waist as his tongue pressed against her lips. She opened her mouth when forced since it was either that or be bruised. His tongue explored her mouth and his hand cradled the back on her head while his other hand gripped her hip.

If he had done it anytime sooner, a few months ago perhaps, she would have melted and given into him completely. It was what she had always wanted, always waited for. For him to finally give in and tell her how he truly felt. But it was too late.

"It's not about Kikyo, Kagome," he breathed as he broke the kiss for an instance before meeting her lips once again in a rough kiss.

She pushed him back and off her before crawling slightly away from him. "No, we—I can't. There's nothing between us, Inuyasha."

"Why not?" he flared.

"Because it's too late!"

"How?" He sounded stubborn.

"Because you never told me how you felt before! How was I supposed to know what you felt? I knew we had friendship, but you left it at that. Did you expect me to wait for you? Save myself for you until Kikyo was _finally _out of the picture? I don't want to spend my life alone, waiting for someone I can never have."

She knelt beside him, but he crossed his arms, looking the other way. It only angered her further.

"Sure, you 'claimed' me as yours, but you put me on a pedestal for safe keeping and forgot I was there every time Kikyo came along! And even when she wasn't there you never did really pay any attention to me! You'd save me when I needed saving but otherwise… you were never there for me." She stopped yelling and looked him straight in the eyes and said softly, calmly, "he is."

His ears flattened on his head and he grumbled, "sure you won't reconsider?"

He said it half-heartedly and she smiled, knowing she had won. "Nope," she said cheerfully.

"We're not right for each other, anyway," he muttered, his ears twitching and arms crossed over his chest.

She hugged him tightly, to his surprise and whispered, "thank you."

At first he did not react, but then hugged her back tightly, closing his eyes as he held her in a loving way, which he would never be able to do again. After tonight, she would no longer be his. So he wanted to hold on to her for as long as he could for the last time.

Kagome tried to move away from his embrace, but he held on tightly. She let out a little squeak of surprise when he moved her so that she was positioned in her lap.

"Inuyasha, what—" she began.

"Kagome," he said and that was all he said, but the way he spoke her name said it all.

She leaned her forehead against his, gazing into his golden eyes, then turned around in his embrace so that she was no longer facing him. He encircled her in his arms and she leaned back against his chest contently.

She had been so unsure of her feelings before, but all she had to do was talk to him, explain things to Inuyasha and everything was alright now. A piece of her would always love Inuyasha, but now, she would be with Kurama, another love in her life.

Her mind finally at peace after so much confusion, Kagome fell asleep in his arms one last time.

* * *

Kurama could see perfectly well in the dark and by the starlight that night, he could see the scene across the pond exceeding well. He had watched as Kagome leaned her forehead against Inuyasha's and then moved in his arms so that she sat in his lap. By now they had both drifted peacefully asleep with Inuyasha's arms encircling Kagome.

So it seemed Kagome had finally chosen. And she hadn't chosen him. Well, Kurama was glad for her. She had finally gotten what she wanted and the kitsune wanted her happy. He did love her, but if she was happier with Inuyasha… then he would let her be. He was content with the fact that she was happy.

Then how come his heart was aching?

Kurama stood, leaning slightly against a tree. The wound in his stomach from that morning was almost healed since the kitsune had found some helpful plants that healed wounds when properly mixed together.

He was so engrossed with watching the hanyou and miko, he did not notice Hiei had come up next to him until he spoke.

"Go after the girl," the fire demon told the kitsune.

"No," Kurama declined as he watched the sleeping miko with sadness in his eyes.

"Why not, fox?" he asked, following his eyes to across the lake.

"This house feeds on jealousy… love… hate. There is no need to feed it anymore," he said quietly.

A rustle in the leaves behind them turned their attention around. Coming slowly toward them was Sango, wearing the silk pajamas the house had given her. Hiei watched her walk forward toward them with hunger in his eyes, her hips unconsciously swaying back and worth in a way that only women knew how to, but Kurama was too distressed to notice and Sango's eyes were looking across the lake. Her eyes widened when she saw the scene.

She looked to Kurama. "Why aren't you stopping Inuyasha?" Sango demanded.

"Don't you want your two friends together?" Hiei asked, showing slight surprise on his features.

Sango shook her head. "I want Kagome happy." She turned to the kitsune. "She'll be happy with you."

Kurama only shook his head sadly. The demon slayer did not understand, would not understand. He'd be the gentleman and back down. It was obvious whom Kagome had chosen.

Kurama began walking away from them both, going toward the door to the inside.

"So that's it? You're giving up?" Sango called angrily after him. "Don't be a coward!"

"Sango," Hiei said warningly.

She looked to him, her eyes filled with annoyance. "What?"

"Let him be. He knows what he's doing."

"Why didn't you stop him?" she snapped furiously.

Without an answer she stormed off, following the kitsune while Hiei watched the slayer in silence. His eyes were soft and vulnerable, not having their usual hard glint. Just then, he turned away so his face was covered in shadows. He wanted no one to see the kindness in his face and the affection it held after regarding her.


	26. The List

_**Deadly Games**_

**Chapter Twenty-Six: The List**

* * *

Kagome smiled as she gazed at her reflection from the pond's surface. Everything felt so… right. She no longer had to hide anything from anyone. It had all worked out; now she and Kurama could be together.

She picked up a rock and threw it into the water, letting it plunk into the water's depth, creating ripples and distorting her reflection in the pond. When the water became clear again, Kagome found that she was not alone and that there was a person standing beside her.

"Hi, Kura," Kagome said brightly, turning to the girl.

Kura however, did not turn to her. She only continued to stare at her reflection with a solemn expression on her face, much different from the usual happy-go-lucky attitude.

"You shouldn't have kept it hidden for so long," she told Kagome's reflection. "You've been a bad little girl."

Kagome stared at the little girl's likeness in the pond so she was able to see her expression while saying with one eyebrow raised, "I'm the little girl?"

Kura pouted. "You know what I mean."

"And what do you mean?" Kagome inquired curiously. "Everything's fine. I love Kurama."

Kura only shook her head sadly. "Things didn't go according to plan…. Goodbye, Kagome."

She began humming then singing her wordless song, though it sounded more somber than usual, having a sad tune. Kura disappeared and Kagome was left with a bad feeling deep inside her. She pushed it away though, not wanting it to ruin her good mood. She did not know what Kura meant, but she did know everything was fine, so she should not have to worry about it.

…Right?

* * *

Kagome walked into the common room sometime in the afternoon, only to find everyone already gathered in it. As she approached, the talking became less and less until it ceased completely. She supposed that things were still a little awkward in the group after Inuyasha's outburst. She guessed they all had found out about her and Kurama's relationship. But that was a good thing, right? Now they would not have to hide anything anymore.

Her gaze went immediately to Kurama, who sat next to Yusuke. Normally, she would have gone over and sat by him, but the expressionless look on his face as he, like the rest, gazed at her, made her stop. There was no kind smile or concerned look… just a blank expression. It confused her and that bad feeling came back to enveloped her. She played it safe and sat between Sango and Botan instead.

"Hey, Kagome," Yusuke said as a greeting, nodding his head toward her in acknowledgement as she sat down.

"Hi," she said with a small wave of her hand. She leaned back heavily on the couch. All her happiness had pretty much gone out the window when she entered the tense room and all that was left was a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Today was going to be a really long day.

As if sensing her less than good mood, Shippo jumped into her lap and Kirara rubbed against Kagome's hand. Kagome made an attempt at a smile. All she got was a sad half-smile.

"So, what did I miss?" Kagome said in an attempt to break the thick silence hanging in the air.

"Well, we came to the conclusion that every demon is a part of the house. So I believe as we kill more demons it manifests, then we make it weaker. That's why sometimes it hasn't been able to stop us when we we're going after a certain object, or when we find clues. We have weakened it considerably," Kurama informed her evenly.

"So if we kill enough of the demons, then we'll be set free?" Kagome asked excitedly. However, Kurama did not respond or smile at her enthusiasm like he usually did.

"Possibly, but if the house ever gets too weak it might not send any other demons. So we have to figure out how to draw the consciousness out of the house so that we can destroy it once and for all," Miroku answered.

"And in the mean time, try not to get killed," Inuyasha said gruffly.

"I wonder… am I next? Will this thing try to kill me next? I mean, it did go after all the girl's from our group first, so…" Botan wondered, while hugging her arms to her.

They were silent for a while, thinking about what Botan said. Would she be next? But somehow, Kagome did not think so. There was something else…. The order in which they died… was there anything significant to it?

Kagome began to think back to when they first arrived, thinking back on everything they did and trying to remember everything that was said. That's when it clicked.

In a brilliant moment, Kagome said, "the people have been dying in the order that they saw the messages."

Silence.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say, huh?" Yusuke commented.

"Keiko saw the first message first, when it said 'No one gets out alive.' Yukina was first to see the second, made out of the puzzle pieces," Kagome explained, "and Shizuru…."

"…she saw the third right after Keiko was killed…" Sango commented, "it said 'one down'."

"So this house has a list of who's going to die next?" Shippo asked.

"It appears so," Kurama said.

"And now…," Kagome began.

Everyone looked from Sango to Hiei and then back once again. They had seen the next message together, the one made out of fire. But who had seen it first? Sango had seen the fire moving strangely first, but when the message had actually formed they had seen it at the same time. Who would be the one to die?

"Sango…" Kagome said, fright already building up in her eyes, thinking of what might happen.

"So… one of them…" Botan started.

Sango and Hiei only stared at each other. Sango did not want to die… but neither did she want Hiei to die, as surprising as that fact was to her. Yet one of them was about to…

"Wait, but that doesn't make any sense," Yusuke commented. "That first demon that… got Keiko. It went after me, it should have killed me… but she pushed me out of the way. Her death was an accident."

Yusuke's hands balled into fists as he remembered, shaking furiously.

"Not if it knew what she would do," Miroku commented slowly.

"What do you mean?" Shippo asked. Even Inuyasha was curious, eyeing the monk.

"Think about it. Why did it wait so long to begin knocking us off one by one? It spent the time to observe us… observe our friendships and relationships…. How we'd react… even what and who we like and dislike, it probably knows. It could probably predict any one of our moves. Considering it has nothing to do _but_ observe us."

It was a disturbing thought, but most likely true. As much as the house had loved to toy with them in the beginning, it did it so it could watch them to see what they would do in certain types of situations. It relied on their predictable-ness while picking them off one by one by its list.

"Now we have to figure out what to do to keep Sango and Hiei safe," Kagome remarked.

"We'll split into two groups, each one of them in a different group so we can keep an eye on both of them and protect them. No big deal," Inuyasha commented gruffly.

"I don't need your protection," Hiei replied, annoyed.

"Just deal with it, Hiei. This is the best way to go about it," Sango said.

Surprisingly, Hiei did not argue and kept quiet, meaning he would go along with the arrangement. He'd never given in so easily before and always did what he felt like doing. Kurama found himself raising an eyebrow. Sango was having quite an impression on the fire demon.

"Just let me go grab hiraikotsu from my room," Sango said as she got up and disappeared from the room.

"Alright, Hiei—" Botan began as she turned around, but stopped once she did.

Hiei was gone.

* * *

Sango closed her bedroom door quietly behind her. It took her only seconds to locate hiraikotsu, but first she grabbed her black demon exterminating clothes and changed into them. She turned around after grabbing her hiraikotsu, only to jump, startled, after seeing someone by her door.

"You scared me, Hiei," she told him, one hand over her pounding heart. Normally, she would not have reacted, but all this you're-the-next-one-to-die had shot her nerves.

"For a demon slayer you have terrible senses," he said as he came closer.

She let her weapon lean against the bedpost and crossed her arms while Hiei continued to move forward. "Yeah, well—"

Sango was cut off, however, when Hiei pressed his lips against hers. He pulled her roughly toward him and ravished her mouth with his tongue. A warm hand slipped under her shirt and pressed against her back, bringing her impossibly close.

When they both surfaced for air, Sango moved back, but not out of arms reach. "This may be the last time we see each other," Sango said, adding silently, _alive at least. _His gaze drifted to the bed for a second and Sango continued, "there's not enough time, they'll come looking for us."

He let go of her abruptly and moved back a step. "You think that's all I want you for?" he asked angrily.

Sango's eyes widen slightly and she said disbelievingly, "what else?"

"I…" he said hesitantly, then angrily, "never mind."

He brushed passed her roughly, making her stumble backward. "Forget it," he said heatedly.

Hiei stalked out of the room while Sango watched in confusion. He slammed the door behind him and Sango flinched at the sound.

She sat down forcefully on her bed, feeling weak in the knees. What just happened here? The kiss… it had had a sweetness to it. And his words… they confused her. What did he mean when he asked if that was all she thought he wanted her for? There had never been anything else to it. Something had changed… but did it make a difference?

There was an aching in her heart as she looked at the door he just slammed. She paused when she noticed it was there. Did she actually care for him and not just lust after him?

* * *

Everyone got into one of the two groups that not too soon after went their separate ways. Inuyasha, Kurama, Sango, along with Kagome, Botan, and lastly Kirara went in the first group.

"But I want to go with Kagome!" Shippo complained.

"Too bad, runt, you're coming with us," Yusuke said as he dragged Shippo off in the other direction.

They decided to search the halls and rooms for any clues and meet up with the other group that night to compare notes. The idea sounded good in theory, but now it was time to try it out.

Kurama was walking in front and Kagome hurried to walk next to him. Maybe that morning had been or fluke… or maybe she had imagined his coldness toward her. Yeah, that was it. It was all in her head.

But the second she got next to him, she knew it was no fluke. Kurama did not even acknowledge her at all, keeping his distant, if not in body, then in mind. Something was different and Kagome wanted to know what.

"Kurama, what's wrong? You've been so distant lately…" Kagome started.

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong, Kagome," Kurama told her, looking at her for a second.

Then why was he not looking at her in that tender way he always had before? He was acting like he had when they first met. Polite, but distant. Over time, he became more at ease and expressed his feelings openly, but now he did not. Why? Had… had he stopped caring somewhere along the way? Had she done something wrong or was he not fond of her anymore?

He took a step away from her so that there was more room between them.

"Then why are you moving away?" She took the step forward that he took back so they were the same distance apart as before.

"It's just improper to be so close," the kitsune told her, turning away before he would see the hurt expression on her face.

In the moment of him looking away he found himself looking at Inuyasha, who was talking with Botan. It was painfully to just walk beside her and have to be formal and polite, but she was not his anymore. She belonged to Inuyasha and they had made that abundantly clear when the two had spent the night together by the pond. Did Kagome really think things could be the same after she picked the hanyou over him? She was making it very difficult to act normally.

"Improper…? Kurama, what's wrong with you?" Kagome asked, concerned. She stopped in her tracks and grabbed his arm to make him face her. She then put her arms around him, holding him close.

Remembering to school his features, he removed her arms from him and they fell helplessly to her sides. "Absolutely nothing."

"Why—" she began, taking another step closer.

"Let's just go, alright?" he interrupted and began walking again, catching up with the rest of the group.

"Oh… okay," Kagome said, feeling lost.

She hung back, trailing behind the others in a sort of dazed-like state. Kagome did not understand and was utterly confused. Why was Kurama pushing her away? Had _she_ done something wrong?

It didn't make any sense. He promised he wouldn't leave. He promised he would never leave her. Now, it felt like he already had. Why? Maybe she should apologize and then maybe….

"Hey," said a voice beside her, interrupting her thoughts. "You okay?"

Kagome looked over at the demon slayer walking beside her. She offered her a sad smile, but it was all she could manage.

"Fine," she said in a hollow voice that did not sound like her own, "just fine." She then glanced at Sango. "But I think I should be the one asking you that question. How are you holding up?"

Sango gave her the same sad smile. "As good as anyone that was just told they're going to die."

"I won't let you die," she told her. "I won't let any more of my friends die."

"Well, I don't plan on dying anytime soon, so don't worry about it," Sango said in an attempt to make her friend feel better. "Anyway, I think we've been through worse."

"Yeah, worse," Kagome agreed lamely.

Neither sounded very convinced.

Abruptly, out of the shadows one of the black furballs scurried out and ran to Kagome. Apparently, they had not all been killed when Hiei sent his flame out, but Kagome did not notice the thing until after it bit into her leg.

A wave of dizziness suddenly passed over Kagome. She stopped in her tracks with a hand to her forehead and tried to will it away, but her whole body began feeling weak. Her vision turned black with random multicolored dots running through it. The weakness became too much and she fell to her knees, while reaching out an arm as to try to grab onto something that would make her fall easier.

Someone grabbed onto her arm, but too late since she had already fallen. She tried to look at who had helped, but as she turned her head a splitting pain ran through her and her vision remained unfocused.

"Kurama," she said softly before she passed out.

* * *

"Is it really that surprising to you? Men are men, nothing can change that," said the spirit walking beside her.

The two walked an endless path, entirely surrounded by blackness. There was neither floor nor a ceiling only the yellowish path surrounded by complete darkness.

Kagome shook her head furiously, as though if she shook her head hard enough the words Miya had just spoken would leave her. In truth, the words stuck in her mind, haunting her.

"No, Kurama's not like that! I'm sure of it. Something's wrong…"

Miya walked beside her, straight and proper in perfect posture while Kagome's walking was slightly slumped, though it didn't seem that important at the moment.

"Something is _always_ wrong. They're men, all the same."

Kagome cast a sidelong glance at the noble. "Why so bitter toward men all of the sudden? Last I saw of you, you were sad that Yasuo was leaving… but that was all."

She stopped while frowning. "I don't know exactly. I just have this feeling deep down that I have these emotions… so I comply. I'm having trouble remembering. There are certain pieces of my life I can remember, but nothing after I came to Lord Akio's house. That is, until you came along. Then I began re-living pieces of it and I'm starting to remember more."

Was what she was saying true? Or was she just trying to get Kagome to believe her in order to throw her off her, or the house's, trail?

Miya continued to frown prettily. "I feel like something happened… something I should remember… but after that night my memory's fuzzy."

Kagome continued walking on, but did not realize until a few moments later that Miya wasn't following her. She tried to turn back but her body froze. She gasped as a chill ran through her and Kagome's vision went black once again, however, this time it came with a numb feeling. Then she heard laughter, familiar laughter, but the laughter was in her mind as she was taken back.

* * *

Yasuo held the tray firmly in his grasp with one hand, using the other hand to knock on Lord Akio's door. Ryu had said he was busy. With what, Yasuo did not know, but Ryu had asked him if he could and Yasuo complied.

He thought he heard feminine laughter coming from inside the room, but he dismissed the idea quickly. It was only after he heard Lord Akio invite him in and he took a step inside that Yasuo froze.

Both Lord Akio and Lady Miya were sitting together at the table, Miya still laughing slightly as she looked at Lord Akio. Hearing the door open, she suddenly turned toward him and her eyes that had just been sparkling with laughter, quickly lost their twinkle. Her features became neutral as she regarded him, though there was something in her eyes… something he could not identify.

"Lord Akio," he said, bowing his head since he could not bow properly with the tray in his arms. He looked up again and then to Miya. Their gaze met for a split second before Miya looked away, hiding the shame that came on her face, so instead she looked to Lord Akio.

Still, Yasuo addressed her with the same bow. "Lady Miya."

"Where is Ryu?" the lord inquired curiously.

"He had some work to attend to. I was sent in his stead." He placed the plate full of dinner on the table and then clasped his hands behind his back. "Though I didn't realize the lady would be joining you. Would you have me bring her something?" he asked in a very monotone voice.

"That's alright I don't plan to stay long," she said and Yasuo was relived. Even if he had been the one to break things off, it made him feel easier knowing she was not with the lord.

"Is there anything else you would like, my lord?" Yasuo questioned.

"No, that is all," Akio said in a dismissive way to the servant while taking Miya's hand in his.

Yasuo bowed, trying to ignore Akio's actions, and turned to leave. Just as he was a few feet from the door he heard Akio begin to speak. Yasuo slowed his steps.

"Lady Miya… we've known each other a long time, haven't we?" Akio inquired.

"Yes, my lord, we have," Miya responded. "Since I was only a child around Kura's age."

"And as of late," he continued, "I have found myself thinking of you often."

Miya began blushing faintly. It was not very often that a man, especially Lord Akio, admitted to that sort of thing.

Akio gave her hand what was meant to be a comforting squeeze. "I know this is very sudden, but… I would be honored if you were to be my wife, Lady Miya."

Yasuo stopped in his tracks, his whole body tensing as he heard the words. He half-turned back, eyes only for Miya. She wouldn't. She couldn't! She—who was he kidding? He knew the reason why she came in the first place.

Unable to stop herself, Miya found herself glancing at Yasuo, who waited by the door and their eyes locked instantly. A silent message was in his eyes, one she did not know for sure what it was, but had a pretty good idea. Then she turned back to Akio.

"Nothing would make me happier," she responded, though her heart was not in the decision. Neither man noticed.

Yasuo's body turned to ice in the few moments it took her to speak those words. His Miya… in the arms of another forever. As his heart shattered, without further hesitation, Yasuo continued his walk out the door.

Miya tried to hide her wince as she heard the soft click of the door behind Yasuo.

"Would you be offended if I kissed you now?" the lord across from her asked.

Miya tried to swallow the lump in her throat. It wouldn't go away. She couldn't do it, not as of yet anyway.

"If you may, my lord, I'd ask you to hold that kiss for another time. I should be going now," Lady Miya informed him as she stood.

Quickly, she left the room and took a deep breath as she closed the door behind her. Miya leaned heavily against the door with her eyes closed for a moment before reopening them, only to find Yasuo a few feet away.

Before he could even speak, Miya turned her back to him.

"You have no right to criticize anything I do." _After all, you're the one that left_, she thought.

"Miya—"

"I'd ask you to address me properly," she said heatedly before walking away at a fast pace, not daring to look back and see his hurt face. It was his fault anyway.

It seemed so final, though. Then again, maybe it was. Maybe that was it. Neither of them would ever mention their affair again, like it had never happened. The thought of forgetting brought a pain to her chest and a lump in her throat. She didn't want to forget.

She didn't want to marry Lord Akio.

* * *

Yasuo leaned against the wall in the common room, trying to keep his thoughts blank while trying to keep a certain noble out of his thoughts.

He thought back on the time that he had asked Miya to leave the house with him, get away from it all. Her face had fallen and she told him that she couldn't. Since then he had knew he would have to end it sometime… They could not go on much longer without being discovered. Yet, he had never wanted to dwell on it and stay as long as he could. Then the time had come and he couldn't look back.

"I didn't mean to cause so much harm," he heard the all-too-familiar seductress' voice say. She seemed to consider the statement for a second, and decided to rephrase it. "Well, actually I did, but I regret it now and… look, Yasuo, I'm… I'm…"

"If it brings you so much pain to apologize, then don't do it. It didn't matter if you did what you did or not, the end result was still going to be the same. You were right. Someone like her can't be with someone like me," Yasuo informed Yuki.

"But still…"

"It doesn't matter," he said with a sigh. Then, taking all the pent-up feelings inside, he gritted his teeth and punched the stone wall. He let out a yelp as he bruised his knuckles.

"Stop that!" Yuki snapped, snatching Yasuo's hand, observing the damage.

Lightly she brushed her fingertips over his knuckles and he winced, trying to take his hand back. Yuki held on fast while smirking.

"Don't be such a baby. You're lucky you didn't break anything," Yuki informed him.

"Found a new lover already?" said a cold voice.

The two of them turned their heads to see Ryu standing nearby, though Yuki still held possession of Yasuo's hand.

"So what if I did?" she inquired defensively, then nonchalantly, "just another male, I don't care to keep track of them anymore. It's not like any of them really _matter_ anyway."

Ryu made a sound like a growl, then looked from Yasuo back to Yuki. "Another guy to screw and not care about?"

Yuki gritted her teeth in annoyance. "Exactly," she lied.

Yasuo opened his mouth to say something, most likely explain to Ryu that that it wasn't what he thought, but Yuki never gave him a chance to. Yuki brought Yasuo's head down to her level and crushed her lips against his in a heated kiss. He was too surprised to do anything. Ryu watched with somewhat disgust and beneath that, pain.

The seductress pulled away only after she ran out of breath and both she and Yasuo gasped for air.

Someone clearing their throat loudly behind them made everyone turn. Yasuo's eyes widened.

"Miya…" he said softly.

Ryu looked at Yasuo in surprise after he failed to use Miya's title. Yuki and Yasuo, however, were too busy staring at Miya with a mixture of regret, perplexity, and shock.

Miya stood with her arms crossed, though a hurt expression that she tried to hide was displayed on her features as she looked from Yasuo and Yuki. It quickly began changing to anger. Then abruptly she turned, leaving the three.

Yasuo did not even try to go after her. She would not believe him if he told the truth. What did it matter? She had Lord Akio.

He left the opposite way of Miya which left only Ryu and Yuki, who looked at each other angrily before Yuki snorted and exited.

* * *

Kagome wobbled on her feet, but Miya steadied her.

"And just when I thought you couldn't have a vision inside a vision," Kagome muttered.

When she was steady enough to walk on her own, Miya let go of her arm and they continued walking. Miya seemed deep in thought, contemplating the memories she had just received back. Kagome decided to let her figure some things out on her own and kept her mouth shut.

They both kept walking on the same yellowish trail but stopped when they came to a fork in the path, leaving a choice of which way to go. Neither looked very promising, having a dark, gloomy look to them.

Kagome looked to Miya, unsure of which way to go.

"This is your choice to make. Both lead to pain, though both of a different sort."

The first path continued into a scary looking place where the path was not quite whole, but it continued on. The second path, however, was covered completely in darkness and stopped abruptly. Someone who went down that path would never come out.

"Which do you choose?"

"The first path, of course," Kagome said without a single doubt.

Miya eyed her oddly. "But would you really?"

Kagome opened her mouth to respond but Miya cut her off. "To choose wisely you have to consider all facts and options. Are you sure you're ready for that type of decision?" Again, before she could answer, Miya said quietly, "though I'm not sure you have an alternative."

"Miya, what do you mean?"

Miya turned Kagome around to face her while keeping her hands firmly on the girl's shoulders.

"Don't make an ill-advised decision. Don't—" She was abruptly cut off.

A look of surprise passed over Miya before she screamed as she was pushed off the path, falling into the darkness.

Kagome fell to her knees on the side the noble had fallen off. "Miya!" she yelled futilely.

Light footsteps that echoed in her mind came toward Kagome and she looked over to see the end of a dress in her line of view. Slowly she looked up, only to be looking at Yuki.

"To let her go on would have been harmful for you and her," the seductress said simply before Kagome could form the words. She took Kagome by the wrist. "You don't belong here."

Without another word, she pushed her over the edge just as she had done to Miya. She was too surprised to scream. The last thing Kagome saw before everything became black was Yuki's grim face looking down at her.

* * *

"Has she stirred at all in the past ten minutes?" Inuyasha asked, the concern he tried to hide clear in his voice.

"No," Botan responded, looking worriedly at Kagome.

No one had noticed as she fell to her knees, though Sango had caught her arm before she had collapsed completely. Now she sat completely still on her knees with her arms draped lamely at her sides, only her shallow breathing revealing the fact that she was indeed still alive. Her eyes were open, staring blankly in front of her with a far off look in her eyes. She gazed at nothing and saw nothing. She was unaware of anything around her because she wasn't there. She had not even so much as twitched.

And Kurama was getting worried. Very worried. But he kept his mouth shut and kept his distance from her. It wouldn't do if she suddenly snapped out of it and he was by her side. If she did wake up.

Next to Kagome lay the mangled body of her fur-ball attacker. Inuyasha had been the first to see it and killed it instantly, though with more force and violence than was necessary.

Kurama reflected on whether to go to her or not for sometime. He had heard her call his name before making him flinch inwardly, but something troubled him. If she was so in love with Inuyasha, why was she calling his name? Just when he decided to give up and go to her, he saw her stir. Kurama stopped in motion.

Kagome shivered once then began blinking rapidly and looked around her in a dazed way. Someone was holding onto her arm. She looked over to them blankly.

"You okay, Kagome?" Sango asked.

Kagome nodded while switching her gaze to the dead creature. "That's my attacker?"

"Yes, but I don't think it was meant to kill. Inuyasha maimed it as it was scurrying away," Kurama explained. _Then again, I could only be saying that to reassure her… and myself._

Kagome looked over to him, standing some feet away, but as their gaze met, he looked plainly away.

Hiding her hurt, Kagome looked at the rest. "There was something though… I saw…." She frowned prettily, then remembering, told them about the scene she saw.

"So you saw Miya accept Lord Akio's proposal, then the misunderstanding between those four… anything else?"

Kagome frowned once again, trying to recall anything else. Before she saw Miya accept the proposal… nothing. She had fallen unconscious and then the scene was displayed. And after… just waking up. That was all she remembered.

"Nope, that was all," she said as she got to her feet with help from Sango and Botan.

Shrugging, they continued on. However, Kagome hung back, scowling as she looked at the small dead demon that had bit her. Why had it bit her? Surely it and the house had not known she would get a vision. Then why—

"Kagome?" Botan asked when she noticed she was not following.

Shaking her head to get the thoughts out of her mind, she turned to the ferry girl.

"Coming."


	27. Sacrifice

"_Have you ever been in love? Horrible, isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens your heart and it means someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up these defenses, you build this whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life. You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They do something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own any more. Love takes hostages. It gets inside of you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination, not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a body-hurt, a real gets-inside-and-rip-you-apart pain. I hate love."_ —Neil Gaiman

* * *

_**Deadly Games**_

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Sacrifice**

* * *

They walked in almost complete silence in their circle around Sango so that she was protected as much as could be from the house. They had been walking just like that for hours now.

Sango had a hand on her stomach, frowning at the thought that she seemed a little heavier than before. She hadn't really thought about it, but a joking comment by Kuwabara had made her slightly self-conscience of the fact. She supposed it was because of the little active they did while lying around the house, while if they were in the Feudal Era they would be running around constantly, looking for jewel fragments.

She knew if Hiei could have heard her thoughts he would have sneered and looked away, his way of calling her an idiot. Sango smiled inwardly, though the fact that he wasn't around and he was not there to bicker with to drop the tension level made her frown just slightly. Dare she even think it… but did she miss the short fire demon?

"So… what exactly are we supposed to be looking for? Or looking out for?" Botan asked.

Kagome and Sango exchanged a look and they both shrugged. They were not really sure. The group was only supposed to look out for Sango, just like the other group was watching Hiei, if they could follow the little black blur.

A pulse went through the room and everything shook for a second, trembling. Then the ground began shaking violently beneath their feet, so much so that the three girls leaned against the wall to help steady themselves. The two semi-demons held their own balance in the center of the room.

"Anyone else feeling that?" Botan asked nervously. Kirara let out a low hiss and changed to her larger form.

"Feel what?" Kagome asked curiously. The way she said it made it obvious that she was talking about something else besides the ground shaking.

"What, the ground?" Inuyasha asked dryly. He was ignored.

"Something evil," Sango replied while looking around her, "coming toward us. And fast."

The ground never ceased to stop moving until a large hole appeared in it and a clawed, purple hand as big as any human came out of the hole. It grabbed Kurama as it emerged, pinning his arms to his sides as its hand closed around him. In effect it made Kurama unable to reach his rose whip, let alone anything else.

Inuyasha withdrew his Tetsusaiga from its sheath, and jumped toward the demon's fist, but before he could do any damage, another giant hand broke through the floor. It caught Inuyasha mid-leap and his Tetsusaiga transformed back as it fell to the floor, useless.

Both Kurama and Inuyasha struggled against the grip of the demon, to no prevail. Both had their arms pin to their sides and there was no way to escape the demon's grip. Following the two hands were two arms, the huge head and body, then finally the legs and tail of the horrendous purple demon.

"Well, look what I caught," the demon said with a ghastly smirk.

Kagome was slightly taken back after he spoke. Not that she had not seen large demons talk before, but all the ones that had come before it were unable to talk. Then again, every time a new demon emerged it was stronger and more efficient than before. The house seemed to be putting more energy into its created demons as it tried to take them down.

Sango threw her hiraikotsu at the demon, aiming for his stomach in hopes that the blow would split the demon in half. The demon however, turned slightly and used its tail to swat the weapon away and hit it roughly into the wall where it smacked into it forcefully, causing hiraikotsu to break into two pieces.

Sango let out a cry of outrage and frustration. She would not be able to fix it until she got back to the Feudal Era! _If_ she ever got back to the Feudal Era. The way things were going, she was not so sure.

Unsheathing her sword, Sango moved closer to the demon. The demon once again turned and swept its tail around wildly. It swept Botan and Sango's feet out from under them so that they fell painfully onto the floor. Sango began to get unsteadily up, when his tail hit them once again, slamming them into the wall. Both fell into unconsciousness. Kirara took a flying leap for the demon, but ended up with the same fate as Sango and Botan.

Kagome was only partially aware of what was going on around her, most of her attention focused on the demon and his two victims. A part of her was worried for Botan and Sango, but they would recover. She could not say the same about Inuyasha or Kurama once the demon was through with them.

Had she been wrong? Was there no pattern to the killings?

"Let them go!" Kagome demanded.

"How about…" the demon began. He squeezed his fists tighter, making the two demons in his grasp gasp in pain. "…no."

Kagome felt a small whimper rise in her throat, but she swallowed it. "Let them go," she said more quietly but still firmly.

"You… care for them, don't you?" the evil demon said with a smirk on his ugly purple face. The nail of one of his clawed thumbs moved so that it ran through Kurama's red locks. Kurama looked less than pleased.

Mutely, she nodded.

"I'll make you a deal then," he told her.

Unconsciously, Kagome took a step forward, curious of his offer and desperate to save her friend and her… whatever she could call Kurama. Lover? Friend? "What kind of a deal?"

"I'll only kill one of your men," the demon declared, "but you must decide which one."

Kagome looked from Inuyasha to Kurama, knowing she could not make that kind of decision. Letting one of them die… it would be killing a part of herself too. In addition, she had promised herself she would not see another one of her friends die. She would not go back on that promise now.

Neither of the males in question said anything and only watched Kagome closely. Her eyes met Inuyasha's first, but he turned away before he began struggling once again in the fist, even though he knew it was no use. Kagome then met Kurama's emerald eyes. His face was expressionless as before, but his eyes… they held something. A message. A… goodbye?

_No, Kurama…_ she thought desperately. How could he even think that? She could never… Kagome could never let him die! It would be just as bad as if she picked up a knife and stabbed him herself. Especially after all they had been through. With Inuyasha, it was basically the same thing. No, she could not pick one over the other.

"I can't make that decision."

He squeezed the two tighter and they cried out in pain, though both tried to muffle their shouts. They didn't want to make it any harder on Kagome.

Kagome fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face. "Please," she whispered, then cried out, "please, stop it! Stop!"

Still he squeezed tighter. Kagome was on her hands and knees and her head dropped, not wanting to see them in pain. Kagome heard something crunch and one of them shouted louder than before, but she could not tell which one.

The loud cries…their pain… the sound of them being slowly broken… yelling her name… pleading with her to take them instead…

Cries… pain… broken… her name… pleading….

"STOP!" she screamed, her head flying upward as she yelled it.

The demon paused and the two seemed to go limp in his hands as he slightly relived the pressure. "Well…" he said with a devious smirk. "Tell me, would you be willing to do anything for them?"

They called her name… her name… not wanting her to do this….

She gazed at the demon with tear-filled eyes. "Yes."

"Then… I could kill you in their stead."

The two captives started to protest, but the crushing of their bodies left them gasping for air and made speech impossible.

Kagome bit her lip as she thought. Anyway this turned out, it would not be good. She could not let him kill either Inuyasha or Kurama. She could not betray them like that. But if she did not… then it was her. The other option was to fight, but she was not strong enough for that. Maybe if she could hold out long enough until the other group found them…

As though knowing what she was thinking, the demon said, "and if you don't choose quickly, then everyone dies. Including your unconscious friends over there."

She tried not to show that his comment had fazed her, but she knew now that she had to make a decision. She was in love with Kurama, even if he was acting coldly toward her lately, and she'd never sentence him to death. But Inuyasha was her friend, had saved her life more times than she could count… She owed him that, didn't she?

Even though her mind was thinking it over, her heart already knew what she had decided. She saw no other solution.

Another thought went through her head. Someone before had mentioned that the house knew exactly how each person would react. She was playing right into their hands. But she found that she did not care. She did not care that it knew what she would do… how far she would go for her friends. Kagome still could not let her friends die if she could do something about it.

"Me," she whispered. "Take me."

The evil thing smirked as though it had already known that would be her answer. "So shall it be done," he said in a mocking tone.

"Kagome…" Kurama managed to whisper, even though he had little air to spare.

Shakily, Kagome got to her feet. Her legs were trembling visibly, yet she still managed to stay standing. The demon squeezed the two until they ran out of breath, falling into unconsciousness. He let the two fall to the floor with a loud thump, not caring about them any longer.

Kagome took two steps forward, but stopped there. A blackness began seeping out of the demon's claws; it pooled around the demon and he began sinking into it. He did not seem alarmed. Then again, he was the one making the pool of black liquid and it would not harm its maker. Unfortunately, the same was not true for Kagome. It went around the two unconscious males on the floor, avoiding them, and began slinking its way toward Kagome.

She felt slightly panicked, but she could do nothing about it now. If she ran, then Inuyasha or Kurama, maybe both, would die. For their sake, Kagome kept her feet planted firmly on the ground.

They didn't stay that way for long.

They began sinking into the blackness and quickly at that. A faint memory of the prophetic dream she had when Kura had entered her dream came back to her. They started to consume her and she struggled but only a little. It was too late to go back on her decision now. There was no way she would get out it.

The blackness started climbing up Kagome, eagerly consuming her. It reached her face and seeped into her mouth. Trying to scream, all that came out was a choked gargle. It seeped into her from every hole in her body, whether it was her eyes, nose, or from a few cuts and scraps she had acquired.

She heard someone screamed her name, but it no longer mattered. She couldn't think, couldn't breath. Kagome was completely covered by them. She reached a hand up, but no one was there to take it. She was dying and no one was there to save her.

* * *

Sango groaned as she came to, her head pounding from where it had hit the wall. She focused on the rest of her body, but quickly learned that that was not such a good idea. Once she thought about it, the throbbing pain in her back came back from when it too had impacted the demon's tail, the floor, and finally the wall.

Trying very hard not to move, Sango slowly opened her eyes. Once she did, she wanted to close her eyes and pretend that what she saw was not happening. That she was still knocked out or hallucinating, but she knew it was not true.

Her eyes opened to see Kagome knee deep in blackness, sinking into the floor.

"Kagome, NO!" Sango cried out.

Why wasn't she fighting? Why was she just standing there as it consumed her?

She scrambled to her feet quite painfully, then fell back to her knees on the floor, every muscle in her body screaming in pain. Sango did not care. She'd worry about the pain later, there were more important things to worry about at the moment. She forced herself back up and stumbled over to Kagome, falling many times along the way.

She didn't make it in time.

Kagome disappeared into the blackness, the last thing going under, her out-stretched hand. Sango grabbed for it, but was not close enough. As soon as she was no longer visible, the black pool of liquid vanished as well, just leaving the room normal as it was before. Minus one person.

Sango fell hard to her hands and knees where Kagome had disappeared, the impact of her knees on the floor making a sickening sound.

"Kagome!" she yelled, her voice cracking. Her hands searched the floor blindly as though they could find a way into the hole of blackness that had consumed her friend. They found nothing.

What had happened? When she had been knocked out, Inuyasha and Kurama were in the demon's grasp. Now, Inuyasha and Kurama were out cold, along with Botan, the demon had disappeared, though still very much alive, and Kagome was….

"Kagome," she whispered once more. Her tired muscles gave in and she collapsed onto the floor, dry-eyed. She would not cry. Kagome was not dead. Why should she cry if Kagome was not dead? No, it was another one of the house's tricks. It had to be. It _had _to.

She closed her eyes, letting her thoughts take her away. She heard the three of them wake, one by one. They groaned and stood up. It didn't matter.

* * *

Slowly, Kurama became aware again. It was a gradual and painfully process, but he managed. His mind was trying to replay what happened to him before he was knocked out. When he did remember, his head snapped up.

"Oh, God," Kurama whispered, his whole being filled with fear.

He looked around and saw Sango lying face down on the ground. Sango did not make the effort to turn to him even though he was sure she knew he was conscious again. Kurama hurriedly made his way over to her, kneeling down beside her while ignoring the pain that was felt with every breath he took. Where was Kagome?

"Sango, what happened?" he said.

She did not answer, did not open her eyes. He knew she was conscious, but she was not answering him. A painful feeling surged inside him.

Frantically, he shook the demon slayer. "Sango, _what happened_?"

Slowly, Sango open her brown eyes to regard the kitsune. That look in her eyes… Kurama abruptly stood up.

She whispered a word, but he did not hear it. Again, she whispered the same word, only louder.

"Gone."

Kurama stumbled backward as though he had taken a physical blow. Botan gasped and her hand flew up to cover her mouth. Inuyasha, who had just become fully aware of his surrounding, suddenly jumped up and rushed over to the detached Sango.

He lifted her up by her collar and the only thing keeping her up was the fact that he was holding all of her weight. The tip of her toes only barely touched the ground.

"No," he told her, "no." Inuyasha shook her. "No!"

He let go of her and backed off in the same way Kurama had. Sango fell to her knees, head down, still dry-eyed. Kagome would be back… and everything would be fine…. Fine….

That was how the other group found them not minutes later.

"We heard screams and yells… what happened?" Yusuke asked as the group made their way cautiously over, feeling the tension in the air. Sango was still there, so what had gone wrong?

"She did it to save us," Kurama said quietly, making everyone turn their attention to him. His head was down, his bangs covering his eyes. Every word he uttered hurt and not just because of bruised, if not broken, ribs. "She was given a choice… and she had rather it been her than others. Just like Shizuru had. Just like all of them had."

A hush filled the room with mostly confusion from the other group. Since no one else seemed to want to explain, Kurama took over that job as much as it hurt. Sango finished up, being the only one who witnessed the end.

Still she spoke emotionlessly. She did not feel any pain, did not feel any sense of loss. She felt… numb. None of it was real, why did it matter?

Silence filled the room once Sango had ended the story. First the shock came, then the grief and tears…. Shippo was clutching Botan as he cried, the only person that would have been able to give her any type of comfort right then. She hugged him lovingly as she too wept.

"We're such idiots," Miroku said softly, though through the thick silence, it sounded quite loud. "Sango and Hiei weren't the ones that got the next message."

"What do you mean?" Kuwabara asked since no one else was willing to speak.

"It was Kagome. Kagome had gotten the vision and in it there had been a message written in blood. She had gotten the next message but we failed to see it, even herself who figured out the pattern," Miroku explained quietly.

No one talked for awhile until Botan finally said, "I think… it'd be best if we all go to our rooms to sleep for the night."

Without another word, they all headed toward their rooms. Shippo was desperately clinging to Botan and she did not have the heart to detach him from her, though she was not sure she wanted to anyway. She needed the comfort just as much as anyone else did.

One by one they all disappeared into their rooms, except Inuyasha and Kurama, who had both wandered off somewhere along the way. Not that anyone took notice.

Four. Four of them were gone now. And each one hurt like it had just happened. And now, there was not even a body so they could put her to some peace. Just… disappeared, having to take Sango's word for it.

Hiei discreetly looked across the hallway at Sango, who had her hand on her doorknob, but she shook her head slightly.

_Slayer?_ he asked curiously. Whenever there had been a death she had come to him in a way to stop the pain, to make herself forget for just a little while. He didn't mind.

_Leave me alone, Hiei,_ Sango thought back, going into her own bedroom for once.

She closed the door firmly behind her. For a second she leaned heavily against the door, before taking a deep breath. She began making her way over to her bed, but Sango never made it because if the next few moments she fell to the floor, kneeling.

Finally, Sango let the tears that had been elusively minutes ago come. She found herself lying down on the floor, her body shaking with sobs and curled into a fetal position.

She… she was really gone. Her best friend was gone. She'd lost so many people in her life… she had not wanted to lose more. When she heard she would be the next to die, she had been shaken up, but this…. Sango would have rather it been her.

Another sob escaped her and she buried her face in her hands.

"Yes, because crying alone in the dark is much better," the fire demon said. Her head whipped up and she sat up, looking around the dark room for the voice.

She had not heard Hiei come in, but that was not surprising. However he got in didn't matter, she did not want him here.

"Go away, Hiei," she said harshly, as she turned away from him. Her best friend had died, she did not want the kind comfort he gave her for once. It only delayed the pain, it never made it go away. She just wanted to be alone. Alone, she might be able to get through it. Eventually.

To her surprise, he hesitated. She was kneeling down on the floor, so he went around her and knelt in front of her. He brushed her tears away, the cold, salty liquid falling on his fingers in the process. He put one warm hand under her chin, lifting her head up, and began kissing her softly, softer than he had ever before.

It was the only way he knew how to comfort her. He had never had to comfort anyone before, had never wanted to, but now, he wanted to comfort the girl… woman in front of him. Just like she had helped him when Yukina died, he wanted to help her now.

He kissed her for many reasons. He kissed her because he did not want her to go through the pain. Because she had done it for him when Yukina died. Because he did not want to see her cry. Because he…

Hiei leaned into her, letting his hand move from her chin to cup the side of her face. He began to draw back, but what he didn't expect were Sango's lips following his, refusing to let him go. He gladly complied, especially when she eagerly opened her mouth, allowing him entrance. His hand moved to the back of her neck as the kiss became hungrier and her fingers trailed through his hair, then brought him closer.

His hands slid their way down her sides and to her waist, then move back up, taking her shirt's material with him. The contact of his warm hands across her cooled skin made her shiver and she pulled his body closer, wanting that heat. Before she knew it she was on her back on the floor with him on top of her, planting a kiss on top of her tear stained cheek, then kissing down her jaw and to her neck.

Her eyelids felt heavy and she felt them close until her mind cleared for a moment. Her eyes shot open as she realized what she was doing. Abruptly, she tried to push him away, misinterpreting his reason, thinking he only wanted to play with her.

His arms encircled her as he kissed her lips softly…

"I said, _go away_!" she shouted at him while shoving him roughly off her.

His semi-dazed state did not last long and happened too fast for her to even notice. He stood up gracefully and met her eyes as they stared daggers into his.

"Fine," he said harshly as turned and left, slamming the door behind him so that the room rattled with the force. Sango cringed at the noise.

If she didn't want his comfort, then he wouldn't give it. See if he cared! It did not matter to him whether she was miserable. Why should it?

He heard her quiet sobs through the door as she continued to cry while he walked to his own room.

Then why was going back into her room the only thing he could think about?

* * *

The room was trashed. Painting had been thrown across the room only after a clawed hand had sliced through them. Couches were overturned with their stuffing littering the entire room. The bricks that had made up the fireplace were scattered across the ground but in very small pieces, some even reduced to dust.

Inuyasha kicked another pillar in the room down, not even waiting for the debris to settle before attacking something new.

Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it! This was not supposed to happen! She should have never gotten hurt! She shouldn't have picked herself! He would have rather had her pick him.

Tears of frustration and grief came as he easily split a chair in half.

Someone entered the room and Inuyasha's ear twitched. He ignored them.

He punched his fist through the wall. "I was supposed to protect her," he grumbled more to himself than to the intruder as he once again punched the wall, harder this time.

"I'm sorry you lost… her," the kitsune said quietly.

Inuyasha looked over at Kurama as though he had just gone insane. He was sorry for him? The kitsune had lost just as much, if not more. The two had been in love, for God's sake!

Finally understanding, Inuyasha turned to Kurama, bringing his fist out of the wall. "She chose you, you idiot!"

Kurama took a startled step back and his heart sunk lower. "But… at the pond… you two…."

No, Kurama was not mistaken. He knew what his eyes had seen. The two of them…

"I made her stay," Inuyasha muttered. "She had made it clear that she hadn't picked me. She's been trying to explain things since then, I heard her before, but you didn't listen!"

Inuyasha felt a twinge in his heart. He was still referring to her as though she had not gone anywhere. As though she hadn't…. "And now she's gone," he told the kitsune, his voice thick with emotion.

Kurama backed up until he bumped into a pillar that Inuyasha had not yet destroyed. His bangs covered his emerald eyes, but it was easy to make out the tears that streamed down his cheeks, leaving a trail behind until they finally fell silently to the floor. The tears he had kept in until then, he released them.

_If only I had listened…_ Kurama thought_, she's gone without ever knowing… She thought that I had left her… didn't love her anymore._

He stumbled out of the room as more memories come back.

_"You won't… you won't leave me like Yasuo did… will you?" she asked, raising her head to study his face, her eyes moist. "Even if… something bad happens… or Inuyasha finds out. You won't leave?"_

_He told her firmly, "never. I'd never leave."_

He had been an idiot. If he had only let her talk… But it had been too painfully to listen to her when he thought she meant to tell him her love for another. And now she was gone and he had never got to tell her…

_Kagome,_ he thought_, you made me promise not to die. But you couldn't stay alive yourself…_

His hands turned into fists, nails biting deep into flesh. He would not die, that he promised. But he would _not_ let the demon get away with taking her from him.


	28. Fatal Mistake

_**Deadly Games**_

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Fatal Mistake**

* * *

Groaning, Sango rolled over in her bed, though she hardly moved, her lower body and legs too entangled in the sheets to allow much movement. The light shone through the window and fell upon her face, seeping into her closed lids. It annoyed her and she turned to make it go away, but by then it had woken her enough that she could not go back to sleep.

She rolled off the bed and onto the floor with a thud, mostly on purpose, not feeling that she could stand on her own two feet yet. A wave of nausea came over her and she clutched her stomach, trying to make it go away. It didn't work all too well.

Her stomach churned and she fought the urge to heave, however it wasn't about to last long. Ignoring her lightheadedness, Sango staggered to her feet and ran from the room.

* * *

"Where's Sango?" inquired a voice in the room.

Kurama snapped back to attention when he realized whoever had spoken had their eyes on him. Like he was supposed to have all the answers. Well, believe it or not, sometimes he didn't. All that and more he wanted to say, but he kept quiet.

"…" was all that came out of Kurama's mouth as he returned Miroku's stare, who had asked the question.

Kurama noticed that briefly Hiei had glanced their way when they mentioned the demon slayer, but turned his head once again. Hiei and the slayer hadn't spoken nor done anything more than that since the night Sango had ordered him away. That had been four days ago. The fire demon pretended he did not care and as far as anyone knew, he didn't. Then again, he never let anyone know how he felt.

It was Botan that answered. "She hasn't been feeling well these past few days," she explained, leaving out that Sango had mentioned a few days before Kagome… disappeared that she wasn't having the best of health.

Shippo, who was clinging to Botan, his one remaining lifeline, nodded as well, confirming what Botan said. Since Sango seemed so distant lately, Botan was the only one Shippo could go to for comfort.

Meanwhile, Kirara too was wandering somewhat aimlessly, looking a bit lost without her companion around. Mewing softly, she moved closer to Hiei, who, without glancing at her, stroked her fur once. The small youkai seemed content with this since she lay down by his side, twitching her tails every so often.

"She's taking it pretty hard," Kuwabara noticed, saying softly so only Yusuke could hear.

Yusuke looked to the place Inuyasha usually occupied, though he had been no where in sight the past couple of days. Then he looked to his fox demon friend who always seemed lost in thought lately with the same expressionless face.

"She's not the only one," Yusuke murmured back.

Only a few minutes later they heard the soft footsteps making their way toward the group. A few of them turned to see an exhausted and drawn-looking Sango making her way toward them, though it was an odd sight to see her without her large weapon. Unfortunately, it was broken behind repair at the moment. The only weapon she had was a sword by her side.

"Sango, are you alright?" Botan asked, concerned. "You're looking awfully pale."

Sango wiped her mouth, trying to ignore the aftertaste of vomit in her mouth. "Fine," she said in a dismissive way that left no room for further discussion. Hiei said a soft "hn" that earned him a glare from the pale slayer. She had one hand draped across her stomach that clutched her side and she closed her eyes wearily as she leaned against a nearby wall.

A familiar rumbling filled the area and the floor began to shake.

Sango's eyes shot open.

"What's that!" Kuwabara asked, trying to steady himself by holding onto a couch.

Sango unsheathed her sword. "It's back."

And it wasn't alone.

The ground was torn up, just like before, as the horrendous purple demon came up from the floor, though the ground quickly repaired the damage afterward. He swung his tail around in a leisurely, taunting manner while out from the shadows scurried the remaining furballs that Hiei's flame had not reached. There weren't that many—at least, not as many as before—but enough to be a nuisance.

The dog demon that had been missing previous suddenly rushed into the room, having felt the rumbling. Inuyasha growled and went after the large demon right away after taking out his Tetsusaiga with Kurama and his rose whip only a split second behind. Hiei also blurred from view and reappeared, slashing at the demon's face. The demon swatted a paw, throwing Hiei away, while using his tail to ward off the fox and dog demon.

Yusuke and Kuwabara went forward to help the others. Meanwhile, the two remaining girls, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara worked on killing the smaller demons all around.

The demon sent a burst of power at each of them, making them all jump from the attack. That is, all of them except Inuyasha and Kurama. The demon only used the back of his arm to throw them away, as though it was still keeping its promise to Kagome to not harm either of them.

A noble demon, how… quaint. It did not however change the fact that it had taken Kagome. The fact that it would not fight him only infuriated Kurama more and his attacks became more frequent and violent.

No matter how hard they fought, none of them seemed to even make an impact.

* * *

Darkness.

Just darkness everywhere.

She tried to open her eyes, until she realized her eyes were already open. But she saw nothing. Maybe because nothing was there.

She looked back, only to see a faint yellowish path. The path she had taken led to nowhere and try as she might, she could not go back now. She had made her decision, different then she had thought, but when she had been first asked the question she had not known what was at stake.

"Kagome."

She heard the hushed voice and desperately went toward it. There was a voice, meaning there had to be something other than the darkness. There had to be.

She tried to speak, but found she had no voice. She struggled to find it before trying again.

"Am I dead?" was her first question. She didn't feel dead.

Suddenly there was dim light and she found she was in a small room. Ahead of her stood Miya, and someone else behind her, though she could not see.

"Oh, yes. Quite dead," Miya replied.

She brought her arm up to study it. "Then how is this possible?"

"If you haven't noticed already, the house is apart from reality," said the person behind Miya, ignoring her original question. The person stepped closer, revealing Yuki. "It changes reality to suit itself. So anything that happens here, under its roof, might not happen in the real world. Their deaths might be permitted, they might not."

"They?" Kagome inquired, curiously. Though she had not exactly answered her question, she had gotten her curious enough.

"Your friends, of course," Yuki answered, as though it was an obvious answer.

That's when Kagome began to notice what was behind the two deceased women. There was mist on the floor up to her ankles and hovering just above the mist a few feet away were bodies. The bodies of her departed friends.

The three girls all lay on their back, eyes closed, looking peaceful, as though they were sleeping, though Kagome knew they were not. Kagome quickly rushed to Keiko's, the closest of the three, side.

"It looks like their bodies, but truly it's your mind that gives them form. What is really there is only their souls. Although they have stayed in a coma state, I don't understand how you woke," Miya commented.

The quick excitement that went through Kagome faded at her words. That meant… none of the girls would be waking up. Ever.

"It may be my miko powers, I don't know," Kagome said softly, still feeling at a loss as she stared at her friends.

Miya sighed heavily. "Your friends… our friends from the past… we're all stuck here, in one way or another, but only Yuki and I have a more advanced form consciousness. We still think and feel like we're human, but we're not. Think of us as ghosts—though we can no longer walk on the same plane as your friends do—while the others that were with us so many years ago float around, just the essence of the former selves. They're not able to remember a single thing, not even their names. Except, of course, Kura. But the others, I haven't seen in two centuries… until you and your friends came along."

Suddenly, the memory of Miya and Yuki after Kagome had been bitten by the creature came back. "But you said you couldn't remember anything."

"I could only remember bits and pieces and a few things about Yuki as well since I've been here with her for so many decades," Miya explained. "Though now, I can remember it all."

"And then you," Kagome said, looking to the seductress, "pushed her off the path."

Miya glared at Yuki. "Yes, you could have been nicer about that."

Yuki shrugged, though a smirk tugged at her lips. "You were saying too much. You were putting her in more danger and putting us in danger as well." Before Kagome could ask, Yuki continued, "the house tolerates us being aware for now at least, but if Miya had told you anything more, it could banish us completely into darkness, leaving us hopelessly lost for all eternity. Sounds pleasant, hmm?"

The former noble crossed her arms. "You could have just put a hand over my mouth, you didn't have to throw me off."

Kagome shook her head, trying to think as she ignored their bickering. "I… was here before and if this is the place between life and death… that's why Yuki pushed me off, forcing me to wake up," Kagome thought out loud.

Yuki gave her a sharp nod, before crossing her arms as well as she turned slightly away.

Just who was the house? Kagome found herself thinking. With Miya and Yuki aware, no matter how kind they were, it did not count them out, but even if she found out it would do no good. She was as good as dead. Heck, she _was_ dead. The others needed to find out, not she.

Miya's words from before hit Kagome abruptly. "Wait, you said you can remember it all now. Then who's doing all this? Who's killing my friends?"

Their eyes saddened as they told her that they couldn't tell her if they wanted to. The words were sealed inside them, unable to speak them because of the power the house held over the inhabitants whether alive or dead.

They stopped talking for awhile and Yuki and Miya both sat on their own piece of furniture, both of which Kagome could have sworn weren't there before.

Yuki answered her unasked question once again. "This place is not real, so everything is as you imagine it."

To show her what she meant, the seductress waved her hand around the area and the mist disappeared, suddenly turning into a grassy field, complete with a breeze rustling their hair.

"Welcome to limbo," Yuki announced as she held out her hand and a rose suddenly appear in it. She held the illusionary rose to her nose and smelled the sweet, fake scent, for the only reason the flower smelled so sweet to her was because her mind told her that was how it was supposed to be.

Kagome felt a sudden twinge inside her. A rose… Kurama… his indifference… her choice… her death.

Abruptly, the pain she had died with was brought back and she fell to her knees with a cry, panting.

"I wouldn't think back on it," Miya said quietly. "It always brings pain."

Slowly, she got back onto her feet. "Sorry. I was only thinking of Kurama… and one thing led to another…"

Miya smiled softly. "I know what that's like. It's been so long since I've seen his face. His real face… not just a memory or a flashback. Over two centuries…." An unreadable expression came on her face, but it soon turned back to normal. "I miss him," she said in a mere whisper.

Kagome looked to Yuki, noticing how she had a sad expression on her face with one arm draped across her stomach. With her other hand, she waved her hand lamely through the air and the illusionary scenery disappeared, leaving them in the near darkness once again. Kagome felt more comfortable with the darkness than the artificial fantasy.

"The house now changes reality to its liking, making it different from the real world, that's why your friends are not truly dead yet. Though they can not respond, can not move… they're as good as gone," Miya told Kagome grimly. "Your other friends that are alive will never age because of this altered reality so unless they find a way out or die, they will live in the house forever."

"I wish I could see them…" Kagome spoke out loud with a sad expression.

Yuki and Miya exchanged a glance.

"There is a way…" Miya said slowly.

"How?" Kagome said eagerly.

Miya gingerly waved her hand this time and a fuzzy image appeared in front of Kagome that became clearer by the second. Her hand immediately went up to touch the image once she could see what it was of.

The picture showed a fight, going from one of her friends to the other then the next as each fought either the small fur creatures or the large purple demon. The demon that killed her.

* * *

"Dirty… stupid… ugly…" Yusuke muttered as he got back onto his feet. He kicked away a single fuzz that was trying to climb onto his shoe and then went back to attacking the demon.

A quick imagine of all who had died went through his head and he gritted his teeth in anger. With an aggravated yell, Yusuke ran back toward the demon.

Botan's attention was diverted as she heard the call, but quickly turned it back to the small demons she was swatting with her oar. She chanced a glimpse at Miroku, who was handling himself quite well, and then to Sango, who was attacking the creatures viciously with her sword. She never stopped for a second, always looking for a new target with a hard glint in her eyes.

She shook her head then turned her attention in front of her again, only to see one of the creatures trying to launch itself at her. Before Botan had time to bring her weapon up to defend herself, the fur demon erupted in blue flames until it fell with a thud to the floor.

Bewildered, Botan glanced to see who her rescuer was right when Shippo, her savior, jumped onto her shoulder. She gave him a gratifying smile before continuing the fight.

Kuwabara hit his Spirit Sword against the demon's leg, but it bounced off harmlessly. Kuwabara however, was not discouraged at all by this.

"Hey demon, you have a name?" Kuwabara called out.

"Why?" the demon asked, only the faintest bit curious.

"I wanted to know what to put on your tombstone. Then again, I don't think I'll even bother to bury you. That requires respect for the dead."

"You shouldn't act so cocky," the demon said as he took Kuwabara's feet out from under him. He then turned to the annoying dog demon that kept bothering him, along with the fox.

Inuyasha attacked repeatedly with his Tetsusaiga but each time the demon swatted him harmlessly away. He was more than thoroughly pissed off. He wanted to tear the demon apart, but the demon would not even put up a fight against him and blocked all of his attacks.

"Why won't you fight me?" Inuyasha growled as he took a swipe at the demon's arm.

"Sorry, made a promise to a lady," the demon mocked. "A dead lady, that is."

Hearing this, Kurama gave him a death glare as the rose whip wrapped itself around the demon's neck, but the demon only ripped it off, leaving small wounds where the thorns had been. The horrendous demon didn't seem to notice at all.

Inuyasha, having enough, yelled a warning to the others before sending his Wind Scar at the demon and Yusuke, seeing this, sent a Spirit Gun blast at the same time. However, a sudden barrier was put up around the demon and not only reflected the attack, but sent it back to them as well.

The demon laughed wickedly as the two combined blows struck back at their owners and Kurama as well, knocking all three of them harshly to the floor, knocked out of the fight for the moment.

Annoyance flickered over Hiei's face as he watched the wounded three fall. They were getting nowhere. The demon had only a few scratches to show for their hard fighting, most of them inflicted by Hiei himself.

Getting fed up, Hiei angrily chucked his sword at the demon, the sword moving lightning fast, spinning while making its way toward its target, and would soon embedded itself in the monster's heart. The demon, however, only laughed as the barrier deflected it, sending the sword harmlessly another way, still moving just as fast.

"Now, now, Hiei, look what you have done," the demon said nastily.

"I don't know what you mean," he spat back.

"Then just look," the demon said, motioning his hand in the direction the sword went.

The sword was spinning, moving too fast for the normal eye to see. The speed at which it was going made a whish noise as it flew through the air and hearing it, Sango turned quickly. There was only a fraction of a second before it happen, but that fraction seemed to turn into slow motion. Sango saw it coming, her eyes widening, but not in enough time to make a difference. There was no time to move out of the way.

The force was enough to make her stagger backwards, but she did not fall to the ground. Hiei's sword embedded itself in Sango's stomach, the tip of it going out her back. She tried to scream, to cry out in pain, but all that came out was a choked, strangled sound as a few drops of blood slid down the edge of her lips. Her own sword dropped with a clang to the floor as she reached a trembling hand down to her stomach where the blood began to soak through her clothes, touching it tenderly. She brought the blood-covered hand up in front of her face to see, as though not truly believing it before, even though it hurt so much. The hand shook as she looked at it and then she looked across the room to Hiei, whose eyes were wide with shock and horror.


	29. Hiei's Choice

_"You always hurt the one you love, pet."  
—_Spike to Buffy_, from Buffy, the Vampire Slayer_

* * *

_**Deadly Games**_

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Hiei's Choice**

* * *

She could feel the blood drip passed her lips and slowly down her chin as she took a step backward and then another. A choked sound came from her lips as the pain from her stomach seemed to increase intensely by the second. Her shirt was coated with her own blood, becoming a deep red color as well as the sword that still impaled her.

She remembered only moments before, staring at the sword strangely, wondering why the foreign object was there… until the pain started. Still, she had been in shock and glanced at the owner of the blade.

_Why, Hiei?_

Sango continued taking the slow, staggering steps backward until she found herself falling. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, waiting for the impact that would only increase her pain.

It never came.

* * *

For a moment, Hiei could not move, shock holding the quick demon firmly in his place. No, it couldn't be happening. Sango hadn't just gotten impaled… by _his_ sword, no less…

Her wide brown eyes met his and they spoke layers. Her eyes held so many emotions and questions. Sadness, pain… betrayal…

It wasn't until she began to fall that he moved quick as lightning to her side. He caught her before she met the ground and gently laid her on the floor.

She was hardly responding at all.

* * *

Taking her mind off the mess that was her stomach for only the split second the pain would allow, she felt warm hands on her back, placing her delicately on the floor. She knew those hands.

Why would he catch her? Unless he cared… in which case he hadn't meant to do it, hadn't meant to hurt her. Relief suddenly ran through her.

Her mind fluttered between the darkness and aware stages, but she feared the darkness and fought it, for she knew what the darkness would be. Death. She wasn't about to give in that easily, not after all she'd been through.

"Sango?" she heard the voice say. The voice held emotion, but she couldn't figure out what. That his voice held emotions at all surprised her. And she realized it was the first time he had ever called her by her name, instead of just 'slayer'.

The sounds of the battle faded from Hiei's ears as the fox and Spirit Detective had gotten back up and continued the fight. He only had eyes for the demon slayer who lay wounded in front of him.

Her face contorted with the pain that came rushing back as she fought to remain conscious. It felt like millions of miniature knives were continually stabbing her in her stomach. Choking, she turned her head to the side, coughing up the blood that was welling in her mouth.

"It'll take…a lot more… than that… to kill… me. I… refuse… to… die," she gasped out between hisses of pain.

She grasped the sword in his hand and without hesitation pulled it out of herself while crying out, cutting her palms in the process. Hiei took the bloody sword from her, dropping it beside them, forgotten.

He took off his cloak and bunched it up, holding it to her wound to try and slow the bleeding. She hissed as the cloth touched her open flesh, her nails digging into the palm of her hand to take her mind off the other pain, though it was rather unsuccessful.

Her abdomen… it hurt, very badly at that, but that wasn't all. She felt a tremendous loss, as though she had… lost something, something important. Like some of her life had been taken away from her.

Hiei picked her up in her arms, one arm going under her knees, the other around her back and Sango winced at the movement. Then after a blurry second, so quick that if anyone had blinked they would have missed it, he went to the side of the room and gently leaned her against the wall near Miroku, who was fighting off unconsciousness after he had gotten bitten.

"Sango… I…" Hiei didn't know how to say it. He had never had to make one before.

"Don't say… sorry. Not… your fault," she told him. She tried to pick herself up to sit up straighter, but cried out as the pain hit her and her vision went black.

Hiei put his hands on her shoulders to stop her from moving anymore. "He'll pay for this."

Sango nodded absentmindedly as she closed her eyes and slumped against the wall.

He felt panicked for a moment before he moved closer and saw her shallow breathing and relaxed slightly. He wanted to shake her, make her open her eyes, because he feared that if she had her eyes closed too long she'd…. But he didn't want to cause her anymore pain than he already had.

The fire demon looked over to the human only a few feet away. The monk was looking only at Sango with shock and concern in his eyes as well as a longing to go over to her.

Noticing that Hiei was staring at him, Miroku looked at him, a question forming in his eyes with a request in them in addition, wanting to be by her side.

Hiei gave Miroku a meaningful glare and said quietly, "take care of her for me."

Miroku's eyes widened, a possibility going through her mind that never had before, but he nodded all the same.

For a second, Hiei just stayed by the slayer's side, eyes closed, before he opened crimson eyes filled with determination. He went back to where Sango had been wounded and picked up his sword that was drenched in her blood. Then he was back near Sango, standing in front of the slayer. His hand ached to touch her and he let his hand brush gently across her cheek before turning to the demon, promises of death clear in his eyes.

* * *

Miroku felt his heart throb as he saw the gentle caress, but his attention went fully to Sango when she groaned. He dragged himself closer until he was by her side, then worked on bandaging her stomach. Halfway through, Sango opened her eyes once again.

She looked at Miroku, confused for a moment. Last time she had opened her eyes, Hiei had been in Miroku's place. That seemed only seconds ago. She was losing time and that was never a good sign.

"Where's Hiei?" she croaked out.

Miroku plainly ignored her question and never looked up at her as he continued to work. He finished and met her brown eyes. He reached out a hand to her, but hesitated in midair. Then shaking his head slightly, he let his hand continue until it reached her cheek. He stroked her cheek lightly, the same cheek Hiei had, while she have him a look filled with confusion and under that pain from her wound, there was other pain as well. Such a gentle touch, so different from his usual antics…

He cupped her cheek and she felt tears prickle at her eyes and she didn't even know why they came at his touch. The tears spilled from her eyes and he oh, so gently brushed them away with his thumb, smoothing them out over her cheek.

Knowing Hiei was still in hearing range, he asked her softly, "are you in love with him?"

Both knew very well who him was. Sango did not respond for a second, still struggling with her feelings.

She whispered her answer, though still not knowing how true her words were. "Yes."

More tears fell now, but she did not try to stop them. Still she could not figure out why she was crying. Her body shook violently as she sobbed followed by a shout of pain.

Miroku continued to wipe away her tears, while his heart was sinking in his chest. He had never thought it would affect him that much.

Botan with Shippo on her shoulder suddenly came over, noticing how Sango was hurt while Kirara kept the small demons back. Botan began to use the small amount of healing power she had on Sango, though knowing it wouldn't be enough to heal her completely. She'd never be as good as Yukina was.

Miroku watched Botan for a moment as she began her healing, a bluish light erupting from her hands. Then he turned, watching as the fire demon planned to get revenge for the demon's action that caused Sango pain.

* * *

Hearing Sango's words, his hand tightened on the hilt of the sword.

Inuyasha went to go charge at the demon once more, but was stopped by Kurama's arm that he held out. He looked angrily at the fox demon.

"You don't want to get caught in the crossfire," Kurama explained quietly. As much as he wanted to kill the demon himself, there was nothing stopping Hiei from using all his power and if the hanyou continued to attack, he too would get hit by his power.

Yusuke and Kuwabara seemed to understand as well since they both backed off. Now, only the demon and Hiei stood in the middle of the room, facing each other.

The demon laughed. "Upset with me now, little fire demon? It's your own fault, you know, for acting so aggressively, especially after just seeing me deflect the other attacks."

"I didn't know that you were so much of a coward that you had to resort to a barrier," Hiei spat out.

Frowning, the demon replied, "fine. Then you and I can fight, 'evenly' matched." The barrier around the demon disappeared.

Hiei smirked. He had gotten what he wanted. Now to only follow through with the next part of the plan. This demon was strong, probably getting stronger as the house gave it more strength. He would have to act fast and give it all he had.

He moved quickly and attacked multiple times with his sword, but the demon only lazily pushed him back with the back of his hand. Hiei landed neatly on the floor a few feet away. His slashes had only given the demon shallow wounds that he easily ignored. Damn.

"That all you got?" the demon asked obnoxiously.

Hiei sent him a death glare as he began to call forth all his powers. The demon did the same. What started out as a small black orb of power sparking with energy in his hand grew until it was nearly three times the size of him. Hiei jumped into the air and then, in that moment, they both released their energy and the two blasts collided causing an enormous explosion.

The ground shook as both fighters were consumed by the power, surrounding them and eating away at them. Hiei fought to be rid of it, but he couldn't get away. Faintly, the screaming of the demon could be heard. Hiei never made a sound.

"_Hiei_!" Sango screamed, as she struggled to her feet, ignoring the protests of Botan and Miroku.

Smoke was thick in the entire room and most of the room lay damaged. Sango's heart felt like someone had grabbed hold of it and was squeezing it too tightly. She couldn't breathe. The only thing her eyes could see was the middle of the room where the fight had taken place, but the smoke had yet to clear.

A metal clang met their ears and the noise rang around the room. As the smoke finally cleared they saw what had made the sound. Hiei's sword, steaming with power, had dropped to the ground, the only thing left of both demons.

Botan's hand went to her mouth as tears stung her eyes. Shippo buried his face in Botan's chest while Kirara was slowing making her way over to her companion.

A strangled cry left Sango's lips, staring at the sword. Sango, her eyes over-flowing with tears, stood up, shaking off Botan and Miroku's hands as they attempted to make her sit back down.

The others watched silently as Sango staggered over to Hiei's sword, one arm clutching her wounded stomach as a thin trail of blood fell behind her. She bent down, swallowing the cry of the pain that desperately wanted to leave her lips, and picked up the sword.

"I swear I will kill whoever the house's spirit is, or die trying," she declared, clutching the sword with such force that her knuckles shone white.

Kirara lightly rubbed against Sango's leg, trying in vain to comfort her, and that did it for Sango. She fell to her knees, her face in her hand, before she completely fell to the ground, unconscious.


	30. Wake Up

_**Deadly Games**_

**Chapter Thirty: Wake Up**

* * *

Kagome watched in horror as she saw her friend get stabbed through and by Hiei's sword, no less. She watched as Hiei caught her before she fell completely. She watched them speak and Miroku and Sango talk as well. And all she could do was watch as only a few minutes later, Hiei was killed in a huge explosion of power. She watched and she watched and she watched….

What good was watching when she couldn't do anything?

Still, she could not tear her eyes away from the screen until she saw Sango collapses. She turned her head to the side, not wanting to watch further. It was then, however, that she saw something odd happening. Slowly, but surely, another body was beginning to appear near the three girls, floating in the dark mist.

Hiei.

Kagome ran to him, stumbling along the way, until she was on her knees beside him. She tried to shake him, but her hands went right through his body.

"Wake up!" she yelled at him. In the back of her mind she knew it was futile, but it could not stop her from trying. Maybe since he had only just gotten there… "Wake up! Please, wake up!" she cried out, her voice cracking.

She desperately waited for something to happen, half-expecting him to suddenly opening at least one of his multiple eyes and sit up swiftly, scaring her. But nothing did. Miya and Yuki watched the pathetic display, unsure what to do.

"Kagome…" Miya said gently. "It's no use."

"No!" she said. Again, she tried to touch him, but her hand went right through. _Please, get up and leave this place! They still need you back there… Sango needs you. Wake up! s_he thought.

She continued to cry out to him until Yuki had enough. She walked over to Kagome and grabbed her wrist forcing her up. "Stop it!" she snapped. "He's dead, it's too late!"

"Yuki!" Miya scolded. The seductress had never been patience and did not know how to console anyone, but still, she did not have to be so rough.

"She's acting foolish and she knows very well that he's dead. She saw him die for god's sake!"

Kagome knew it was true and she stopped struggling as the tears prickled her eyes. She turned her face away, feeling ashamed that she was unable to help him.

Then her eyes saw Keiko and she cried out in alarm.

Keiko was fading.

Not that much, but enough to be alarming. Her arm had already started to disappear and she couldn't understand why it was happening. Somehow she knew, slowly but surely, the shadows were eating away at Keiko. And then after Keiko, Yukina, and so on down the line…

"No, no! Stop! Why is this happening? Make it stop!" she cried out frantically.

Yuki let go of Kagome as Miya came over, putting her hands on her shoulders. "Kagome," she said calmly, "Keiko has already died. This house is apart, but since she is dead, she will eventually lapse into real death. Since she was first to die, she'll be first to go into real death. It's happened to the others who happened by the house in one way or another over the centuries."

She shook her head. "No, no, no. No! Not again!" Calming down, she then whispered, "they can't leave again…"

Which meant… she would eventually die completely too… and she'd never see Kurama… or her friends… again. Before, there had been a glimmer of hope, but now…

Miya hugged Kagome as she began to cry.

"How come you haven't? Why haven't you left?"

Miya stiffened for a moment, then answered, "Because it won't let us. Our punishment, along with the other wandering spirits who originally inhabited here, is to forever remain in this house, never able to move on."

"If… if the others defeat the house… can they come back? Can they… can we live again?" Kagome inquired hesitantly.

It was Yuki that answered. "I don't know, it's possible… I suppose."

* * *

Miroku watched intently as Kurama did the last work to patch up Sango, though he had never commented. She was still completely out and her breathing was irregular. Kurama had used some of the plants and herbs found in storage closets to help heal her, but he couldn't do much. Botan, as well, had done all she could and together they had done a pretty good job. But pretty good wasn't enough. The slayer looked extremely pale and she still gripped the sword tightly. Even while she was unconscious they could not pry Sango's hand off of the fire demon's weapon.

Finally, Kurama stepped away from her after making sure the white bandages around her stomach were secure. He had done all he could for her. Still, he felt lousy.

He turned to the monk that waited patiently, leaning against the wall.

Only a few moments ago Kurama had told Botan to go get some rest since she had been helping him for awhile now. She had nodded and gathered the sleeping kitsune in her hands and walked out of the room. But truly, he just did not want her to be there when he told Miroku.

"How long?" Miroku asked. He was not stupid and even though Kurama had an expressionless look on his face he knew that her wound had been fatal from the start.

Kurama sighed. "It's hard to say…"

"How long?" Miroku interrupted, saying the two words more forcefully.

Kurama met his blue eyes, knowing he would have to look him in the eyes for the monk to fully believe him. "I did all I could for her. I'd say around twenty-four hours, maybe a little more. I bandaged her up best I could and Botan's healing helped her a lot, but…." He trailed off. "It's not really the wound that did it, it's the amount of poison her body undertook. Considering how many poisonous bites, though small, that went into her bloodstream in her weakened state…. It was easy for the poison to spread faster. If she hadn't been hurt, her body would've probably been able to fight it off, but as she is now…." He let it drop there.

Miroku, looking to the girl, nodded and walked to her side. He sat down on the bed, giving Kirara, who was curled up faithfully at Sango's side, a quick pet before he turned to look at Sango's face and waited for her to wake up.

He had said he would take care of her, though he would have done so even if Hiei had not told him to.

And so he waited.

* * *

Sango sat by the window, holding the sword still while staring out the window just as Hiei might have done were he there. She let her other hand flutter across her stomach, wincing slightly. Kurama had done his best to heal her and she had thanked him.

They hadn't told her anything. But she knew. She just didn't know how long.

When she woke up, they smiled and asked her how she was feeling. Kirara had mewled softly and curled up near her face while Miroku had gently taken her hand, which she immediately yanked away.

She had turned over on her side while letting a small yelp escape her at the movement. She just wanted to be alone. It had been bad enough when Kagome had left, but Hiei on top of that… She hadn't even known how much she cared until he was gone. She hadn't really thought about it before, but she never really thought she would be this affected by it…

Soon, they had all left her alone, but now the group was gathered together—well, at least what was left of their group—in the extra bedroom room that Kurama had taken care of Sango in. The group was discussing things. As always. And it had done such a wonderful job before. Yeah, right. They still knew nothing and she decided to tell them that.

Miroku and Yusuke had been discussing something about the clips from the past they were able to see, but she interrupted them.

"We knew nothing when we first got here, and we know nothing now," Sango snapped, turning her head to look at them with piercing eyes. Yusuke could have sworn he saw a part of Hiei in that glare and he wondered how he didn't discover their relationship before, with them having picked up some of the other's traits.

A hush went through the room at the comment, but Sango only turned around to look out the window once more.

"True," Yusuke said, "but there's got to be something in all these vision we're seeing! Why else would they show them to us all the time?"

Miroku offered an explanation. "I'm not sure if they want to show us about their past. I think its more of they're stuck, stuck replaying scenes that happened around the time of their death, that led up to their death. It's not that they want to, it's just that they have to."

"Or maybe they're meant to confuse us," Kuwabara said, "They sure confuse the heck out of me."

Kuwabara waited for someone to make some kind of comment or insult because of his words, but none came. His face fell, crestfallen. That's right, the shrimp was gone. As well as his own sister, who tended to made teasing remarks.

"You mean they're meant to mislead us, so we won't figure it out?" Botan said, saying her thoughts out loud. "It's possible, I suppose. What we really need to know is what happened the day they died. Then all our problems would be solved." Realizing what she had just said, she put a hand to her mouth. "I didn't mean that…."

Of course, not all their problems would be solved. There was still the fact that they had lost quite a few friends. That didn't just go away.

There was a silence in the room and a moment of reflection, but as the silence stretched on, it became uncomfortable. Silently, Kurama rose to his feet and began walking away from the others, though no one tried to stop him. He got only a few feet away before an invisible force slammed into him, throwing him backward until he hit the back of a dresser and fell to the floor. He quickly got to his feet, only to be slashed at by the unseen force.

Blood dripped down his arm and onto the floor. Kurama moved into a defensive position, waiting cautiously, but it did not attack again.

"I think it's gone," Yusuke commented. "You okay, Kurama?"

Kurama touched his wounded arm. "I'm—" he abruptly stopped his words as something caught his eye.

A puddle of his blood that lay on the floor, shifted and began to form words, just as it had done in Kagome's dream not too long ago.

_And then there were eight._

"Then that means…" Shippo started, looked wide-eyed at Kurama.

"I'm next," Kurama said evenly.

Inuyasha glared at the green-eyed kitsune. "You seem pretty calm about that."

Kurama didn't respond. It wasn't that he wanted to die, but he wasn't about to whine and complain about it. He accepted whatever fate threw at him and hid whatever he thought and felt about it inside because that's just the type of person he was. When Kagome was around he felt he could confide in her, tell her whatever was bothering him…

…but she wasn't around, was she? And part of him felt responsible for that. If only he could have done something, _anything._

Sango abruptly got up out of the window seat and almost doubled over as she did. She quickly straightened herself, trying not to show how much effort it took. She felt so weak.

Miroku immediately jumped up to be by her side. "Sango, you shouldn't be moving around too much—" he began.

"I'm fine," she snapped at him, yanking her arm back when he took it to try and steady her.

Trying her best to walk straight and upright, she walked away from the group and out of the room unassisted, only pausing for a second to sheath Hiei's sword so that the hilt rested against her hip. Miroku silently followed and Kirara tried to, but Yusuke caught her as she tried to move past him. He had a feeling if Sango got mad at Miroku she'd sic Kirara on him. What they didn't needed right now is to pick up various chunks of a dead monk.

Sango waited just outside the room, knowing Miroku would follow. There was something that was bugging her, something she needed to ask.

Miroku found Sango leaning against the wall, half covered in shadow. Her arms hugged her wounded stomach lightly and she had one leg bent, her foot against the wall.

"You knew what he was going to do," Sango said in a statement, not a question. Her bangs covering her eyes and the darkness made him unable to read her expression, though somehow he knew even if he could, her face would have been perfectly blank.

He eyed her for a moment, wondering what he should say in response. He knew exactly who she implied, but didn't know how to respond. He decided to answer honestly.

"I knew as soon as he told me to take care of you," Miroku told her.

Her arms detached themselves from around herself and turned into fists before she slammed them down into the wall. "Then why didn't you stop him!" Sango cried out as fresh tears made their way to her eyes.

"Do you think I honestly could? He would have knocked me unconscious—no, probably would have killed me if I'd gotten in his way. He was determined to do it, no matter what," the monk responded.

"That little, stubborn, annoying… _arrogant_ fool," Sango all but whispered as the tears trailed down her face. Somehow her words held no conviction. Her body shook, causing a stabbing pain in her stomach that she ignored.

Miroku walked closer to her and enveloped her in a hug, which she gladly accepted now, melting into his embrace. She fisted her hands in his shirt and cried into his chest. He held onto her as tight as was possible without hurting her, trying to stop her from shaking so violently. He gently rubbed her back in a comforting way.

"He wanted to get back at the demon for making him hurt you," he murmured into her ear, "no matter what that took."

"He didn't have to die for me," she mumbled into his shirt.

_Die for her…_

* * *

Yusuke tossed a ball up effortlessly and caught it over and over again, trying to take away his attention from the boredom and tense feeling in the room. Kirara watched the ball intensely, her eyes greedily moving as the ball moved. Her tail twitching ever so slightly every few seconds was the only movement she made. All in all, she looked about ready to pounce any second, making Yusuke wary of the mini youkai. If she changed to her larger form, he was more or less going to be trampled.

He threw it up again and stretched a bit to catch it, but still caught it with ease. Kuwabara held out a hand and Yusuke tossed it to him. The orange-haired boy made a scramble to catch it, but failed miserably when it fell harmlessly to the floor next to him.

Yusuke snickered. "Ball dropper," he said. Kuwabara opened his mouth to make an angry retort, but was interrupted.

"Miroku!" came Sango's yell from outside the room.

"Either Miroku did something perverted or something happened," Shippo commented, jumping from Botan's lap to her shoulder. Though the way Sango had said it…

The others wasted no time to rush from their seats into the hallway. Miroku was kneeling on the floor, clutching his right hand to his chest, panting slightly. Sango had a hand on his shoulder, watching him with a worried expression.

"You idiot," Sango said softly, then more loudly, "what possessed you to do something like that!"

"What'd he do now?" Inuyasha asked.

"He poisoned himself!" Sango cried out. If anyone noticed the obvious tear streaks that went down her cheeks or her red eyes, no one commented.

"Not on purpose," Miroku added as his hand throbbed with pain. Sweat from his forehead trickled down his face.

"How?" Kurama asked, watching the monk.

"Those… those little furball demons started to appear in large numbers and Miroku got angry and sucked them all into his wind tunnel," Sango explained.

Yusuke glared. "Why'd you do a stupid thing like that when you knew they were poisonous?"

Miroku didn't respond as he gazed at his right hand with an unidentifiable expression.

Kurama could understand perfectly why he had done it. When Sango had fought the little creatures, some of them had bit her and poisoned her, now killing her slowly… just as Shizuru was killed by the little demons. No wonder he wanted to get rid of them once and for all.

_No, Miroku… I won't let you die too,_ Sango thought.

She fell to her knees in front of the monk and put her hands on his shoulders to steady him. He leaned his forehead against her shoulder for support and she stiffened for a moment before relaxing.

"But that means… Miroku…" Botan began, watching Miroku with wide eyes.

"There must be a way around his death," Kurama said, shaking his head.

"Why's that?" Yusuke asked. He got a glare from Sango. "Not that I'm not happy about it, but how do you know that, Kurama?

"Because I got the next message. I'm next. Meaning there's something we're overlooking," the red-haired kitsune responded.

"Unless the house didn't expect Miroku to do that," Inuyasha said dryly.

"Then it wouldn't have sent the demons," Kurama informed him.

"I know you're all for 'the house knows our every move' idea, but you could be wrong," Yusuke countered.

"It hasn't been wrong so far with knowing what we're going to do," Botan chipped in.

The others continued to argue as Miroku and Sango remained silent until Miroku finally spoke out.

"Kagome's… cure…" Miroku murmured.

Silence engulfed the room.


	31. Bright Boy

_**Deadly Games**_

**Chapter Thirty-One: Bright Boy**

* * *

Kurama was the first to speak. "What do you mean?"

Miroku continued. "Kagome had mentioned she had one more vial… a long time ago when I got poisoned before…."

The quiet swept through the room at the mere mention of the name and the memories it brought on, just as it did when any of their names were spoken.

"A few of us should go up to K—her room," Inuyasha said, still unable to speak her name just yet, "to get the medicine."

"There aren't any relationships to hide from anyone anymore, that's why we were separated all the time. Well, either that or the house did. We should stick together as much as we can and keep an eye on Kurama, since he's seemingly next," Botan reasoned.

"It's funny," Kurama began bitterly his face covered in shadows. "The house strives on love, but it killed one of the pair in every relationship, killing that love."

"Maybe it wanted… one of us to go crazy with… jealousy and kill the others off," Miroku realized. He seemed to struggle with speech as the poison continued to take effect on his body.

"…just like whoever the house is must have done…" Botan said slowly.

"Akio!" Shippo exclaimed.

"What makes you think that?" Kurama inquired, looking at the young kitsune.

"Lord Bright Boy," Kuwabara said, saying the meaning of the lord's name. "If he ever found out about Miya and Yasuo… Because it wouldn't be Lord Jiro since he only saw Yuki as a plaything. So Lord Bright Boy must have gone crazy with jealousy."

Sango's body stiffened. "Is it him?" she questioned angrily. "Then let's call him out now! I want to kill the bastard who's been killing our friends and loved ones."

Miroku, who had been resting his head on the slayer's shoulder, moved back to look at her face. "Calm down, Sango. We still don't know anything for sure and we don't know how to call the house out. It could still very well be Yasuo, if Miya and Akio together ever got to him, or anyone else. Though if jealousy is the issue, it would be most likely one of the four males."

The monk seemed exhausted from his speaking so Kurama and Inuyasha helped him up. They walked back into the room, placing Miroku on the bed in there.

"Sure, it has to be the male that's evil all the time…" Inuyasha muttered as they walked.

Once Miroku was settled, Yusuke turned to Inuyasha. "Hate to say it, but Inuyasha's right. It could be Yuki as well."

Sango shook her head. "I've shared my body with her many times… She never _felt_ that evil. Not enough to kill, anyway."

"From that last vision, Sango, that Kagome told you about, Yasuo, Akio, and Ryu are all likely candidates," Miroku murmured from the bed.

His breathing was becoming shallow and his eyes were closed, which worried Sango. She sat by his side hesitantly.

"Bright Boy just seems to be the most likely," Kuwabara chipped in, still sticking to his original assumption.

"Yeah, but how do we prove any of this?" Yusuke asked, annoyed.

"The little girl… would she know?" Inuyasha questioned suddenly, which startled the rest since he had been relatively quiet so far.

Sango sighed. "She only ever visited… Kagome…"

"They all did," Shippo agreed quietly. "What are we going to do without her visions? It's hopeless."

"No, it's not it, it can't be! I'll kill this spirit if it take me a hundred years," the slayer said fiercely.

"We'll find a way. We'll use the baka to sense the ghosts," Yusuke joked lightly, jerking his head toward Kuwabara.

Kuwabara beamed. "Yeah, I can sense the ghosts!" Pause. "I am not a baka!"

The tension in the room lightened somewhat, until Miroku broke the stretched silence.

"Not to be a nuisance… but I'd like to be cured sometime soon before I die," the monk said dryly.

"So it's settled. We will cure Miroku, then we'll find Kura," Kurama said quietly. Both Miroku and Sango began to rise. Kurama continued firmly, "no. Neither of you are in good health so stay here." He nodded to Botan and Shippo, who sat on the couch. "You stay here as well."

"So you'll leave us here, taking all the fighters with you? What if we're attacked?" Botan asked.

"If Kagome's theory was correct, I got the message so I'll be the one in danger. Besides," Kurama continued, a small smile of his face, "you'll have Kirara here to protect you."

Kirara's chest puffed out proudly as she jumped into Sango's lap. Sango smiled fondly at the little youkai as she pet her.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama all filed out of the room. Inuyasha paused at the door and turned back to Sango. "Try not to overdo it. You'll be no use to us dead," the hanyou said before disappearing, his way of showing he cared about what happened to her.

Sango face was crestfallen before she gave a wistful smile. _It's a little too late for that…_

* * *

The room they had used to take care of Sango was on the first floor near the common room, so it wouldn't be that hard to find a way up to their own rooms, but they weren't sure if the house would cooperate or not. So far, no trap doors or leading them in the wrong direction, but the four males were still wary.

Their suspicions were justified when quite a few demons began piling out of doors and in both directions of the hallway and all heading toward them, or more specifically, Kurama.

Kurama closed his eyes and reached underneath his long red locks, taking out a rose that immediately changed into a long whip. "Rose whip," he murmured as it took it out, then glared at the demons. "Let us get this over with."

The rest readied their weapons, and the fight was on.

* * *

Sango leaned back until she was lying down on the large bed instead of sitting on it. She had spent a good amount of time passed out and yet she was still tired. Her eyes began to flutter closed before she heard her name.

"Sango?" Miroku asked quietly. Botan and Shippo were talking and playing on the other side of the room. He talked quiet enough so that they couldn't hear him.

"Yes?" she inquired, just as quiet. She turned her head to the side just enough to see him. He was lying on the bed also, looking at her intently.

"The antidote… you should…" he began.

She shook her head. "No, Miroku."

It had never occurred to the others to give the antidote to Sango. Mostly because only two of them knew she was poisoned and dying just as Miroku was. She wasn't about to tell them, they didn't need to know. They all had enough heartache, why put her problem on top of that?

"But why?" he asked. "If anything you deserve it more than I do. And I promised to take care of you. How can I do that when you're dying and I could have prevented it?"

She would have liked to turn her head away from him, but then the other two in the room would probably notice them talking. She couldn't have that.

"Your case is worse than mine. If you aren't cured soon, you'll die, Miroku. I don't know exactly how long I have, but I know I can fight this longer than you could. There's a battle coming, I can feel it, and I think… no, I _know_," she said firmly, "I can last until that battle and fight. You'll die within the next hour or so. And the poison isn't the only thing that's wrong with me. I have far too many injuries… Miroku, the antidote is yours, was always intended to be yours. Don't change that now."

"We could share…" he started, though he knew it was no use.

"You know as well as I do there's only enough for one," she said softly.

Even though she had taken in less poison than him, it was her weakened body and the blood loss that changed the situation. Her body was trying to fight the small amount of poison and if she was entirely healthy she would have been able to, but now it was fighting a losing battle, the poison slowly growing and going through more and more of her body.

He repeated himself. "Why…? Why does it have to be you…?"

_Why? I don't know why, but you deserve to go on, Miroku. It has to be me that goes because you need to stay. I can't guarantee my survival even with the medicine, but you can,_ Sango thought_, and maybe because… a small part of me doesn't want to go on with all this pain… but I'll go on as far as I can, fight with my all until I can't anymore._

She turned her head away from him, ending the conversation. She would have turned her whole body away and curled up on her side but was afraid it might shoot pains through her body. He called her name, but she wouldn't answer him. How badly she just wanted to just curl up and cry. Just be able to cry about all that had gone wrong in her life, let out all her frustration, and just let out all the emotional stress that had been building up, especially since Hiei had died.

But she couldn't. No, she couldn't, not with them here. Strong, she had to be strong in front of the others.

* * *

"This is taking too long!" Yusuke yelled and he slammed his fist into another demon. "We need to get back to the lech soon."

The others agreed, but said nothing. The demons were most definitely after Kurama and the other three were as close to him as they could to help him out without getting in the way of his whip.

Inuyasha grabbed the back of Kurama's shirt before he could go forward to attack another youkai. Kurama gave him an inquiring look.

"Come on," the hanyou said gruffly, "this is getting us no where." He turned his golden gaze to Yusuke. "Cover our backs."

As much as he hated running from a fight, they needed to get back to the monk soon. With Kurama still in his grip, he leapt over the many demons in the large hallway, landing on the other side of them. The second their feet hit the ground they took off running toward Kagome's room, not daring to look back. but they did hear Yusuke's exclamation of "hey, where the hell do you think you're going?" to one of the demons which caused the two to smirk in unison. It seemed nothing could faze him for long; Yusuke would always be Yusuke.

They reached her room quickly and closed the door behind them. The first thing Inuyasha did was search for the big yellow bag of hers.

"Hold the door," Inuyasha instructed. "In case some of the youkai decide to follow us."

Kurama only nodded as he leaned against the door, only half-listening to his words. It felt so… odd to be back in Kagome's room without her… and knowing she wouldn't be coming back ever…

His gaze fell on one thing in the room then the next. That and the familiar scents of the room caused memories to come flooding back to him, some taking place in her room, others not. Just standing there brought back so much… And as the memories came back to him, he found himself being to get lost in the past.

* * *

Kurama closed his door silently and leaned against it, closing his eyes. Another one down and it'd only get worse from there, he knew. After Yukina, who would be next?

Both Sango and Hiei had disappeared that night, but Kurama was sure they had somehow found each other. He only hoped that Hiei wouldn't make an attempt on Sango's life with his anger from Yukina's death. With his sister dead… he would lash out at anyone who came near him.

When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see that he wasn't alone in his room. There was a certain someone occupying his bed.

His eyes softened as he gazed at the girl on his bed and without knowing it, he had walked to the side of the mattress. He sat down on the edge near her. He brushed the back of his hand against her cheek softly, pushing a few loose wisps of her black hair away from her face.

Kurama smiled as he looked down at her. She looked so innocent… pure… so unlike him with all he had done and seen. And yet, she had accepted him, even knowing he was Youko and knowing all the horrible things he had done as a demon. She had more than accepted him… she'd fallen in love with him despite his past.

_She looks so peaceful,_ he thought as he looked down at her beautiful appearance.

He quickly slipped off his shoes and changed out of his clothing into some pajamas. He then rejoined Kagome on the bed and lay down next to her before pulling her gently against him so that her head rested against his chest.

Sleep was elusive for Kurama, but he didn't mind. He was just enjoying the feeling of holding Kagome in his arms. Who knew how long it would last before one of them could possibly…

He hugged her tighter to him, unwilling to ever let her go. Kagome let out a soft noise as she slowly woke up.

"I… I fell asleep," Kagome murmured to herself.

Feeling tired, she was about to drift back to sleep when she realized that someone was holding her. That fact making her slightly more awake, she turned around in Kurama's arms and he smiled down at her.

"Why didn't you wake me?" she asked.

"I didn't want to disturb you," he told her honestly, "and I enjoyed watching you sleep."

She blushed at his comment and he laughed silently before nuzzling her neck, which made her laugh in turn.

Just like that, they both drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

* * *

As Kurama relapsed back into his memories, his mind began to fade. Whether he was falling asleep or passing out from exhaustion, he could not tell, but he did see her in front of him.

Kagome.

It wasn't another memory, of this he was certain. He was surrounded in darkness, unable to see his hand in front of him, but he could see her, giving off a faint pink light. He couldn't make out any detail of her body but her face he could not look away from. It was as though his eyes were glued to her. She had a look on her face as though she were concentrating hard, then her eyes slowly opened and her face began to relax. Her eyes found him and she smiled.

Oh, how beautiful that smile was.

He tried to walk toward her but he couldn't move. Tried to speak, but couldn't talk. However, she did these things when he couldn't.

She seemed to float forward toward him, not walk, but soared slowly through the darkness. But how was it possible to walk in a region of darkness anyway? She hovered just in front of him, though a little above him as well, as though they were on stairs and she was standing on a higher step than he was. She put a hand on either side of his face, cupping his face and tilting it ever so slightly upward toward her. He found he could once again move his arms and placed his hands over her glowing pink ones. She was a warm presence in front of him

Her smile became gentle, tender. She brought her face downward until their lips just barely met. She brushed her lips against his, once, twice, before pulling away, but only the smallest bit. A deep breath on either of their parts could make their lips meet once more. Neither pulled away more or opened their eyes.

"Kurama," she all but whispered, the one word holding so much longing.

Her voice was swallowed up by the darkness only seconds after she spoke them, but he heard them just the same.

She ran her thumb against the smoothness of his cheek. "You have to take better care of yourself. You haven't been eating or sleeping well… You have to go on. You have to fight."

How could she know all that?

She suddenly began to pull away, but he tightened his grip on her hand that still held his face. He opened his eyes, meeting her brown ones.

"Don't go," he whispered to her.

"Kurama…"

She tugged playfully on a strand of hair as he still held her tight, but a sad look was in her eyes. He knew she had to go, but it didn't mean he would let her go anytime soon. He never wanted to let her go again.

Vines sprang from the darkness below them and gripped Kagome by her arms and legs, keeping her in place. He did not remember calling the vines, but it didn't matter; she couldn't leave now. Her smile only saddened further, her face becoming crestfallen.

She closed her eyes tentatively and, powerless to stop her, she disappeared into a shower of pink petals that fell into the darkness, swallowed up by them.

"Kurama!" A rough, male voice.

His eyes snapped open.

* * *

Inuyasha searched through Kagome's bag, throwing useless things behind him, her textbooks, homework, and so on. Finally, he found a vial and stood up, examining it.

"This must be the one," Inuyasha muttered to himself.

He began to walk away, then stopped, thinking better of it. He grabbed Kagome's bag as well, remembering all the weird but useful bandages she had that would be better than that they had already.

The hanyou turned toward the kitsune, who had slumped to the floor. He still leaned against the door, but he was staring into space.

"Kurama?" No response. "Kurama!"

Kurama snapped out of it, his head turning sharply toward Inuyasha.

He… he had seen her. Sure, he had had dreams of her… but none so vibrant as that. Was it just another dream? Or…?

Kurama put a hand to his head, shaking it and dismissing his vision as just a dream as he began, "sorry, I was just—"

"That's very nice, now hurry up. Let's get this back to Miroku," the hanyou said, showing him the vial, "and then we can find that girl."

Kurama nodded and followed Inuyasha without another word.


	32. On the Day of Death

_**Deadly Games**_

**Chapter Thirty-Two: On the Day of Death**

* * *

"Here," Inuyasha said, tossing Botan the medicine.

Botan immediately sprang to her feet and went to the bed where both Sango and Miroku were resting with Kirara between them. Sango sat up and watched as Botan helped Miroku drink the medicine. Miroku caught her gaze just before he drank it, his eyes pleading with her one last time, but she turned away.

"Where are Kuwabara and Yusuke?" Sango inquired, turning to Inuyasha and Kurama.

"They had defeated all the demons we were fighting and we were heading back here when Kuwabara said he sensed something and thought it was Kura. Yusuke went with him, knowing he'd probably get into trouble on his own," Kurama told her.

Yusuke rushed into the room just as he finished. Botan blinked. "That was good timing."

"Come on, Kuwabara found her," he said then had left the room again.

The rest took only a second to glance at each other before they all rose quickly to their feet. Noticing Sango's increasing weak state, Kirara changed into her larger form and Sango got on, practically lying down against the youkai, though it was tight squeeze through the door. Inuyasha and Kurama as well had to help the still weak, though recovering, monk.

When they reached the common room, following glimpses they had of Yusuke as he hurried back to Kuwabara and the girl, they found Kuwabara kneeling on the floor, reaching to something under the table. As they got closer, they saw it was Kura.

Kuwabara held his hand out under the table warily, as though expecting her to bite one of his fingers. "Kura, c'mere. We're not here to hurt you," he told her, speaking to her as if he was talking to a frightened animal. "We want to help you. We can finally set you free if you help us."

Kura's blue eyes darted fearfully across the room as she shivered. "He's angry, very angry," she said in nearly a whisper as her eyes filled with tears. She turned her gaze to Kuwabara. "Please, don't let him hurt me."

The rest of them only stood watching Kura, each with a different expression on their face. Or in Kurama's sake, lack there of.

"She might be faking it," Inuyasha warned. "She still could be the house."

Botan knelt down next to the table and held out her arms to Kura. "We don't want to hurt you," she spoke in a soft, mothering way. Kura threw herself into Botan's arms, hugging her fiercely as she began to sob.

"Still think she's faking it?" Kuwabara asked Inuyasha angrily.

Inuyasha glared back. "Maybe."

Sango's face was emotionless as well. She was never good with children anyway, but after seeing so many loved ones die as well, she was keeping her emotions in check.

"Kura, we need you to show us what happened on the day everyone died," the slayer told the dead child.

Miroku from his seat on the couch opened his eyes slowly to look at the girl. In a soothing tone, he said, "if you help us, we all get to leave and you'll never have to see this old house again or the person inside it."

Shippo looked at his somewhat friend with puppy dog eyes. "Please, help us Kura."

Kura looked at Shippo for a long time before she nodded shakily. She closed her eyes as let out a shaky breath and she began to hum, though it was slightly broken by her sobs. Her humming turned into singing as it always did and it took on an eerie tone with an undertone of power.

The room shuttered and twisted, changing right before their eyes and they watched as the past unfolded.

* * *

Yasuo reached for Miya and she shrieked slightly as she skirted away. Yasuo laughed and Miya could do nothing but laugh as well as his arms wrapped around her from behind. Trapped in his embrace, she didn't mind much.

Their separation from each other had not lasted long. Miya found she couldn't go to Lord Akio, not when she loved Yasuo so much. He had also cleared up what had happened with Yuki and it was not too long after that they had gotten back together, as much as they could while still in secret.

"Let's run away together," Yasuo suddenly suggested. He felt Miya suddenly tense in his arms and he squeezed her comfortingly. "Escape the lord and all the nobility. Live somewhere alone and together where it doesn't matter who we are or where we come from."

Miya considered it. What did she have to lose? She never liked her nobility, and liked her family even less, who she was doing this all for in the first place. So why didn't she run away with Yasuo?

Finally, she nodded. Yasuo smiled and kissed her as he spun her around in his arms, lifting her off the ground. Miya laughed happily against his lips. She wriggled out of her arms and ran down the hallway playfully, Yasuo giving chase while both laughed as they went.

She only got maybe five feet away before Miya abruptly stopped, her eyes widening. Her sudden stop caused Yasuo to bump into her from behind and he wrapped her arms around her, beginning to nuzzle her neck. He was about to inquire before he saw it too.

Miya's voice was a mere whisper.

"Akio?"

* * *

However, before it could go on, the image twisted and faded, bringing the group elsewhere that same day.

* * *

"Ryu! Ryu, stop!" Yuki called uselessly after the other servant.

Ryu was acting cold toward Yuki, just like he always was since she had refused to break things off with the lord. He wouldn't even listen to what she had to say, making the seductress frustrated.

"Damn it Ryu, stop!" Yuki yelled.

He stopped and turned slowly to look at her. "Yes?" the pale servant asked coldly. His indifferent eyes made her want to shiver. Which was saying a lot since not much in the world could make her cringe.

Yuki tried to speak, but words eluded her. Ryu abruptly began to turn away and Yuki's anger increased. She grabbed Ryu's hand and brought it roughly to her, putting it against her stomach. He felt a light kick and yanked his hand back in surprise.

His eyes widened. "Is that…? Who's…?"

"It's yours, Ryu," Yuki told him.

"How do you know? The lord…" Ryu began.

Yuki shook her head and he stopped talking . "I haven't slept with the lord in a long while," she told him honestly, then continued quietly. "I couldn't bring myself to, because I—I was…"

"You were…?" Ryu said just as quiet, though a wicked smile began forming on his face.

She saw his smile. "Because I love you, you idiot!" Yuki yelled, her temper flaring.

Ryu only laughed at her anger and brought her to him, kissing her passionately. Yuki wasted no time in responding, her anger fading as quickly as it had come. She moved back and looked at him with a vulnerable expression.

"So you won't abandon me? You'll help take care of it?" she questioned.

"Why wouldn't I?" he inquired as though the mere notion that he would leave was crazy. He tightened his hold on her, holding her more securely in his arms.

"I thought… I thought you might freak and leave…" She was nearly in tears, which startled Ryu. He had never seen her so… helpless before. "You'll stay?"

He put his hands on either side of her face and looked into her eyes. "I would die for you, Yuki. I love you."

Yuki cried still, but in happiness and a choked laugh escaped her lips as she smiled. Ryu smiled as well and kissed her gently.

* * *

The image changed once more and it was back with Miya and Yasuo.

Miya took a step forward, removing Yasuo's arms from around her waist. "Akio, I can explain…" Miya began, but she never had a chance.

In all of Akio's rage, sorrow, pain, feelings of betrayal and so many other emotions coursing through him that he couldn't think straight, he took out his sword and charged at the two lovers.

His Miya… _his_ fiancée… no…

"I trusted you, Yasuo," Akio yelled, his voice shaking with fury. "I put a roof over your head, put food on your table. And this is how you repay me? Stealing my love from me?"

Miya's eyes widened in fear and Yasuo pushed her back and out of harm's way. Akio swung at him and he jumped away, just missing the blade that almost sliced his stomach.

Lord Jiro wandered into the room after hearing the raised voices and saw what was about to happen a little too late. He quickly drew his sword, but he was not quick enough and it clattered to the ground as Akio's sword went through him. Miya's scream was clearly heard all throughout the vast house.

Akio thrust his sword in and out of Jiro quickly, then sliced his head off to finish the job, a murderous glint in his eyes. Yasuo went forward, quickly taking a sword hanging above the fireplace, and moved back to Miya, moving them farther and farther away from the lord. Akio slowly turned to the two lovers, and slowly, very slowly, made his way over to the two.

Yasuo kept Miya in back of him as he too slowly backed up, then Akio came running at them suddenly, eyes and sword flashing. He swung wildly at Yasuo and the servant did his best to protect himself, but the fight would not last long. Akio had years of training with a sword while Yasuo, being a servant, had hardly ever lifted one, let alone used it.

A deadly look in his eyes, all his beauty turned into a frightful face all at once and was not even recognizable, filled with such hate.

He swung at Yasuo's neck, the servant ducked and swung blindly at the lord, who easily brought his blade back to block. Their blades continued clash and Yasuo gritted his teeth as his arms began to visibly shake at the force it took to throw Akio back when their blades locked. Yasuo did alright for a beginner, only faltering slightly when he heard another scream, causing his arm to get sliced. He hissed in pain.

Yuki and Ryu rushed to the room after hearing the Lady's scream and Yuki couldn't help but scream herself when she saw Jiro's decapitated body on the ground, in a pool of blood. She buried her face in Ryu's chest, crying, and he held her protectively as he surveyed the room. He could easily tell what had happened when he saw Yasuo and Akio exchange blows.

Ryu gently pushed Yuki from him and took Jiro's fallen sword before advancing on Akio from behind. As though sensing he was in danger from another, Akio quickly ended the fight with Yasuo by stabbing him through, going through the soft flesh of his abdomen and then upward, piercing his heart.

A choked gurgle came from Yasuo as the blood began spilling from his mouth. Akio looked him in the eyes, his eyes filled with no remorse, then forcefully removed his blade, letting Yasuo fall to the floor.

Miya screamed until her voice was hoarse, tears streaming down her face.

The Lady Miya fell to her knees and crawled the few feet over to where Yasuo lay, unmoving. Blood continued to come out of his mouth as he coughed it out, the bottom of his face covered in the red substance.

And then he was still.

Miya clutched his hand in hers, bringing it up to her face and kissing it softly. "Please, don't die!" she choked out in a whisper. "Don't—"

She felt the impact from behind and looked down to see a blade through her chest, spraying blood all over, just before it retracted.

"…die…" she whispered before she fell, falling on the floor beside her lover, lying in a pool of their life's blood as it mixed.

Akio, in all his murderous rage, turned to Ryu next, feeling the urge to kill. Ryu swung his sword, but missed when the lord crouched down to avoid the blow.

Ryu, like Yasuo, was not trained with a sword and was worse than Yasuo. Akio quickly ran him through in a matter of seconds and turned to the defenseless woman.

Yuki didn't even try to run and didn't even look at Lord Akio. Her eyes followed Ryu as he fell to the ground. When she saw him no longer move, she turned to Akio, temper raging, and she stormed toward him.

"How dare you… how _dare_ you…" she yelled, but then Akio's blade, already stained with the blood of four people, went through Yuki as well, stabbing her through her stomach.

Yuki fell to the floor, so much like the others had. The pain… unbearable… Her eyes searched for Ryu's until they met. One arm cradling her wounded abdomen, in her last bit of strength, she tried to crawl to him. He died before she could make it, though she still continued to move. She died as well, only a few feet away from Ryu, her hand outstretched toward him.

Dead.

The blood stained the floor, everywhere, going as far as the eye could see. There was not a single tile in the room that was not covered in the horrid dark red color. Five bodies lay dead on the floor, eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling; eyes that would never be used again in life. One pair, a man and woman, held hands even in death, their final moments still spent together.

The murder weapon fell to the floor with a sharp clang, the sound ringing throughout the room. No other sound could be heard, except the ringing and the panting of the murderer. The air was scented with the stench of blood, a vile metallic scent that made anyone want to retch at the smell. That same metallic scent could be tasted as though it had been swallowed and the power of it, that deep red liquid, was too much to handle.

* * *

Everyone was jolted back to the present and those that were standing, fell to the floor.

Kuwabara was first to speak. "Oh my God…"

Kura slid away from Botan's embrace, moving away from the silently crying woman, and went under the table once more, shaking even more violently than before.

Kuwabara, kneeling next to the table, questioned quietly, "are you next to die?"

"You don't ask someone a question like that!" Sango snapped.

"We need you to show us the rest, little girl," Yusuke said.

Botan, looking pale and her eyes puffy from crying, said, "please, no more."

She may be a grim reaper, but she wasn't usually there when they died, only to pick up the souls. To see something like that…

"Finish the vision," Inuyasha said gruffly. "We need to see the rest."

Kura, in a fetal position, was rocking slowly back and forth then abruptly froze. A moment later, she was screaming hysterically.

"He's angry! He's angry! Don't let him kill me!" Kura cried out.

"You're already dead! Now finish the damn vision!" Inuyasha growled.

Kura continued to scream louder than before, her hands covering her ears now as she rocked back and forth.

Botan began yelling at Inuyasha. "That's no way to treat a child! I don't care if she's dead or not, you can't—"

She suddenly cut off when the house began shaking violently, making them feel like they were in an earthquake. The room began to twist and take form, though this time it was not Kura's doing, it was the house. The house's consciousness was showing them the rest of the vision. But why?

Kura's repetitive screams of "no, no, no" in the present faded away and they were all thrown into the past, watching the last event unfold because the house wished it so.

* * *

Akio's sword fell with a sharp clang on the floor, his breath coming in harsh pants as his vision began to focus again. Blood stained his sword, his hands, and clothes, everything. Engraved in his memory was the feeling of his sword cutting into soft flesh, killing his prey. He shuttered and fell down to his knees, his knees making a sharp clack as they met hard tile. What had he done?

_What had he done?_

Tears began falls from his eyes, mixing with the blood on the floor. Miya, he had killed his one love since he was but a boy… his friend Lord Jiro and his loyal servants… How could he? Did he not have better control of himself then to just speak with Miya and Yasuo instead of acting violently? The tears came quicker now as he cursed his weakness, and he balled his hands into fists, his nails biting deep into the skin. It broke and he let his own blood mix with the blood of those he had killed.

A surge of pain and betrayal came back to him as he thought of Miya, but he pushed it back. How could he do such a thing? What kind of monster was he?

He heard soft splashes as someone walked through the red liquid on the floor, walking toward him. At first he did not know who it could be, but then it came to him. Kura.

He looked up to see the little girl coming toward him, now standing taller than him since he was kneeling on the ground, his whole body slumped. He put his head down, ashamed, not able to look at the innocent child.

"Kura, I don't know what I'm doing. Help me," he whispered.

He needed someone to help him, to comfort him, to tell him it was alright. But no! It wasn't alright! He had just murdered five people! It would never be alright. He had to atone for what he had done. He had to think of some way to lessen the pain…. He would donate all his money to charities… live off the streets… or just kill himself in atonement.

Then something came to him. The room was still quiet. Why was it quiet? Why was the girl not screaming or crying? There was so much blood… a horrific sight, especially for a child. Why was she just being still? Was she in that much shock?

Kura had stopped a few feet away from Akio and slowly he looked up at the girl. She stood absolutely still, her hands clasped behind her back. Her face held no shock, no horror, no pain or sadness, or even grief. Her face was void of all emotions as she stared down at him. Judging him.

"Kura…?" Akio said, frightfully. The fact that she did nothing was frightening indeed.

And to his absolute horror, a slow, devious smile crept upon the young girl's face. It changed her into one of devilish beauty and all the innocence of the child was gone.

The girl was untouched by the blood in the room, only her shoes were soaking in it, but she seemed not to care. Her bright blue eyes shone with a malevolent glint and one pale, perfect little hand came into view and touched his cheek. He cringed at the touch.

She laughed.

The little girl only laughed.

Her laugh was full of ruthlessness and cruelty as she slowly took her hand back. What made it even more appalling was it was still the sound of a little girl. For one so young to have such a sinister laugh…

"What a naughty human you have been," it said, in the child's voice. It still was in the form of a child, by now Akio had doubts of whether it really was or not. The devil incarnated, he was sure. "By human standards, what you have done is a horrible, horrible thing."

The girl began circling him slowly, a hand lingering over him, trailing over his cheek then over her shoulders and back as she circled him.

"You're not Kura…" Akio whispered.

She stopped in front of him again, and made him look up at her with a hand to his chin, making him kneel up straight instead of slouching like he had been. At this level they were nearly the same height, though the girl was still a bit taller.

"Oh, but I am. My name is Kura. It's who I've always been," she told him, her voice still the cute little girlish voice it always had been. He did not respond and she continued, "naughty humans should be punished for things they do wrong."

Akio's eyes widened in fear and he jerked his head back from her grasp. Then he forced himself to relax. "Kill me," he told it. "I deserve to die."

"You're right, you do," she declared. Kura paused for a second then continued, "but death is too easy an escape for you. You should suffer. You should suffer for a long, long time." Then cheerfully, "maybe even for eternity."

Akio's eyes widened at her and he whispered, "no," but he did not have the courage to do anything about it. He was still dwelling on the fact that he had killed the ones closest to him.

Kura cupped both of his cheeks in her hands and with that wicked smile still on her face, tilted his head up to face her once more. She repeated the words he had once told her when she had been bad and stole a small jewel from him, only she repeated them mockingly.

"Now, I want you to be a good boy and think about what you've done," Kura mocked. That's when he began to feel the change.

His soul was being torn from his body, rather painfully, and began to stretch out, beginning to cover the walls and the blood covered floor. Then it stretched out and began covering the other rooms of the large house, until his conscience was spread out over the whole thing. Frantically, he tried to move, tried to escape, but only succeeded in flinging furniture and books around random rooms in the house.

He was trapped.


	33. Kura's Truth

_**Deadly Games**_

**Chapter Thirty-three: Kura's Truth**

* * *

The group was thrown out of the vision violently, as everyone either stumbled to the floor or fought to keep balanced after the house—or more correctly, Akio—showed them the past. Once the world stopped spinning around them and all became clear again, each and every one of them turned to look at Kura.

She was no longer crying or screaming, though her puffy, red eyes reminded them of her supposed charade. Kura only stood in the middle of the room, her face held some emotion, but it was unreadable.

"Whoops," was all the little girl said.

Inuyasha withdrew his sword and pointed it at her. "Demon!" he yelled.

"No! No! I'm not a demon!" Kura said, crying.

Botan pushed Inuyasha's sword away from the girl. "Inuyasha!"

The hanyou stared at her, incredulously. "You're still protecting her? She's the reason this house _has_ a conscience! And she's obviously not human!"

"You still have no right to kill her!" Botan said angrily. "And she probably can't die anyway!"

"Maybe we should hear Kura's side of the story…" Miroku suggested cautiously.

"Screw that!" Yusuke exclaimed furiously. He stormed over to Kura and picked her up by her collar, her feet dangling inches from the ground. She struggled uselessly, her feet kicking and her hands grasping at the arm that contained her. Yusuke continued, "Do any of you remember the others that died? Kagome?" He turned his intense gaze to Inuyasha and then Kurama. "Yukina and Shizuru?" He looked to Kuwabara. "Keiko?" He glared heatedly at Botan. "and Hiei?" And finally a last glare at Sango. "If it wasn't for _this _girl we would have never been stuck here and the others would have never died!"

"If it wasn't for her neither of our groups would have ever met…" Shippo said softly. So softly that no one else heard his words.

Sango took a threatening step toward Yusuke. "Of course I haven't forgotten! And I haven't forgotten the promise I made after Hiei died either." Sango took the girl from Yusuke's arms. She was unsure what to do with her at first but wound up putting her behind her back, shielding her from the rambunctious boys. "But I'm not going to let you hurt the girl…" Sango informed them. The girl looked up at her protector with hopeful eyes and Sango glared at her with an emotionless face. "…yet. We still need some answers and we need her to undo whatever the hell she did."

"She's right, we should find out what the girl knows," Kuwabara agreed.

"She's not a demon. I'd be able to smell or sense it if she was, but she doesn't seem like a typical ghost either. I'm not sure I understand," Kurama said.

Inuyasha put his sword away reluctantly, keeping Kura in sight. "Alright, girl. Start explaining and then _maybe_ I won't kill you."

"Inuyasha!" Botan cried out in outrage. She stomped over to him to hit him on the back of the head. Really, he didn't need to scare her anymore than she was already.

Miroku gazed at the small girl curiously but warily. "If you were the one to curse Akio, why are you still here, Kura? Why didn't you run far away?"

Kura dropped her head sadly. "I—I c-can't," she stuttered.

"Why not?" Yusuke asked gruffly. He felt no sympathy for the girl. If she hadn't trapped them in the first place…

Botan held up a hand threateningly, prepared to hit him over the head as well. Yusuke put his hands up in a "I surrender" gesture.

"Maybe we should start at the beginning," Kurama suggested, "what are you, Kura?"

Kura took a deep breath and sat down on the floor, leaning her back against the table. She kept her eyes downcast as she began talking, her speech somewhat lapsing into what it must have been all those years, over two centuries, ago.

"It all started a long, long time ago, before even Lord Akio and his house. Me, my ma, and my da, were out in the forest, this forest." Kura closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her legs. The smallest smile touched her lips as she remembered her parents. "There was no house at that time, just trees. We were walking, looking for a place to start new, make a new home. I was only seven at the time, and I remember we stopped at this clearing to rest. I was humming and singing happily, a song ma use to sing to me at night to get me to sleep, ya know?

"Then this lady came out of no where, she had followed us, I suppose, and she was very angry. She started yelling at ma and da, calling them names. Then she was saying how my da was meant for her… calling my mom a…a whore," she spat out the word, "and that my da was only with ma because he got ma pregnant with me. They argued for awhile and the lady got really, really angry, saying da was hers. Then she got this crazy look in her eyes and pulled out this long knife." She took a shuttered breath. "She killed ma first and then da seconds later. By that time I was screaming my head off and when she told me to shut up and I didn't, the lady killed me too." Her hand went instinctively to where she had been stabbed. "She burned my parents' corpses, but not mine. …Not mine…. She buried me. Maybe she felt pity toward me, I dunno. I kinda wandered for a while, I didn't really understand then, but I couldn't rest, couldn't die all the way, my soul was still 'round, looking for ma and da. Until one day a young lord was going to build a house right smack on top of my grave, though he didn't know it. After a while I began to look human again and I was so excited 'cause people could see me now! 'nd I was solid too! I was practically human! Akio said I could stay…." She looked up. "And well, you know the rest. When I saw what Akio had done… something just took over me. I felt so empty, numb. I _had_ to punish him for what he had done. Maybe because she got away…"

Silence.

"So all this… everything that's happened… is because one bitch killed her old lover and his family out of jealousy," Yusuke said.

"It makes sense now. How the house always thrived on jealousy… love… and hate. That's all this place, this land has ever known," Kurama agreed quietly.

Sango had an unreadable expression on her face. "A house built on one girl's grave… leads to all this." The slayer gestured around at the house and at them, only eight left out of the original thirteen.

Kura hugged her knees tighter. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Botan hugged the girl tightly, not knowing what to say. 'It's not your fault,' wouldn't really work, since it slightly was, though it really all started with her father's old lover. Miroku, however, did choose to say those words.

"It's not your fault," the monk said.

Kura turned to look at the recovering monk, eye bright with tears. "It's not?" she inquired doubtfully.

Miroku shook his head. "There are so many things that could have been done differently that would not have led up to this. The old lover should not have acted so violently. Your soul was never found and taken to the Spirit World." Botan winced and Miroku quickly flashed her a small, apologetic smile. "Akio could have built his home somewhere else. He should have never acted so harshly when he killed the others. None of us should have come here in the first place. And we're lucky, with the house's tendency to make emotions run higher than they're supposed to, that none of us acted as harshly as Akio did when they found out about lovers between our two groups."

Miroku deliberately avoided Sango's gaze at that last comment, a part of him still hurting that she had found love in another. He had teased her too long and had never admitted his true feelings. In the end, Hiei had her love and not him.

Kura glanced away.

"What is it?" Inuyasha asked sharply.

"Akio… his plan was to make one of you go crazy enough with jealousy that they would kill all the rest." Kura looked at Inuyasha. "It was supposed to be you."

"And it almost worked," Shippo murmured.

"What!" the hanyou explained.

"When you finally found out about Kagome and Kurama… Akio thought that there would be a lot of bloodshed."

"Why would he want Inuyasha to do that? Is that his idea of entertainment?" Yusuke questioned, disgusted.

Kura shook her head furiously. "If Inuyasha had killed you all…. If someone did as bad a thing as Akio, then they fuse with the house, become it, and Akio gets set free."

Kuwabara looked outraged. "What! A crazy guy like that would get to roam the streets as human again?"

"Yes. He'll finally be set free, but after decades of being the house's conscience… His mind is twisted and he's hardly sane anymore. Bringing him back to be human would be hazardous," Kura informed them.

"So you expected Inuyasha to kill all of us and become the house?" Shippo inquired.

Kura looked offended as she answered, "I didn't, he did."

Thinking back to what had happened that day when they all had found out, Botan spoke in addition to the others. "It might have worked too, if it hadn't been for Kagome's 'sit' command."

"I wouldn't have killed everyone," Inuyasha said indignantly.

"If you had killed just one person, your rage would be intensified and you would have killed everyone else," Kura told the angry hanyou.

Inuyasha growled menacingly, his voice low. "I would have never killed Kagome." He glared at Kurama.

Kurama only met his gaze evenly. The hanyou seemed to want to blame Kurama for Kagome's death, but they had both been in a tight spot and could do nothing. Still, it seemed Inuyasha's way of dealing with the guilt.

"Not even if you were full-blooded demon?" Miroku asked quietly. That stopped Inuyasha and he glared at Miroku. He continued, "If your hate got intensified too much, you probably would have become that full-blooded, brainless demon and you would have killed everyone in sight. Even Kagome."

Inuyasha glanced away. "Feh."

Kurama was looking down, his bangs covering his emerald eyes that were filled with unsaid emotion. "So the house was just using us, Kagome and I, using us all, to get what he wanted? For us all to die except one to take his place?"

"Hence the first message 'no one gets out alive'. It planned for us all to die, except one, but that person would take his place so no one _would_ get out alive," Botan concluded.

"Except for him. He would walk free," the young kitsune said.

"This house needs to die," Inuyasha growled.

Miroku glanced to Kura. "Can you call out the house, just like you put him in?"

Kura's eyes widened in obvious fright. Take that crazy guy out of the house so that he could personally kill all of them? She didn't think it was such a good idea, but there would be no changing their minds. They wanted it over and done with.

The little girl gulped. "I can try." She looked away. "He was never supposed to get so powerful, he wasn't supposed to have any power at all. And he might be too powerful now…"


	34. Love or Friendship

_**Deadly Games**_

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Love or Friendship**

* * *

"There's one more thing," Kura began, hesitantly.

She nervously picked imaginary lint off her skirt while the rest watched her warily. They still didn't know how much they could trust the young girl… or whatever she might be.

"And what's that?" Inuyasha asked suspiciously.

Kura sighed and looked down at her hands in her lap. "Akio got strong, he was never supposed to. He wasn't supposed to be able to control the house and make demons manifest, only be conscious of the things that went on inside the house. But he grew powerful quickly and without me even realizing. Akio has been keeping my powers in check, but when you kill him… This house is apart from reality. He can alter reality as he likes, but if you kill him… I'll be able to bring your dead friends back."

The shocked looks on their faces were truly priceless.

"What, how?" Botan questioned anxiously, beating the rest to it.

"Right now, they're in a dead-like state, not truly dead in a sense because this is an altered reality, but they're fading away beyond the house's reach in the orders of their deaths," the girl explained.

Words could not describe how stunned the group was. This was new information to them. If their dead friends weren't really dead… that gave them more than a little hope.

Yusuke felt thrilled for a moment as happiness rushed through and warmed his body, but it quickly receded when he heard the end of her statement. His face fell, becoming serious once more.

"Which means Keiko is first," the Spirit Detective commented.

Kuwabara abruptly sprung up from his seat. "So we have to act fast and kill Akio quickly. Let's do it now." He turned to Kura. "Summon him."

"Not so fast, Sparky. Kagome's not in that dead-like state. She's aware of what's going on. She knows what's happening to us as we speak."

Kurama unconsciously looked upward. _Kagome…_ he thought.

"So you can't bring her back?" Inuyasha growled. He didn't like the sound of that.

Kura frowned as she thought, a small finger tapping her bottom lip. "She's the only one of your friends conscious right now, a ghost like Yuki and Miya. The three still have the smallest bit of life's energy that they cling to. It keeps them ghosts and not just an essence or mindless. Her strong will and her powers as a miko that she clung to unknowingly keep her aware, but they also interfere with mine. I guess I could bring her back, but… it would take all my powers. Meaning, I couldn't bring the rest back."

"So it's everyone or…" Botan began, but couldn't finish.

Shippo's eyes filled with tears. "Kagome…"

Kura nodded curtly. But she also knew she couldn't make this decision. Her choice was bias since she only knew Kagome and liked her. Beside, none of them knew her well and would not trust any decision she came to.

The girl turned her gaze to Kurama. "You get to decide," she told the fox, who looked slightly startled at this announcement.

"Him? Why him!" Inuyasha questioned her.

Kura gave Inuyasha an 'isn't-it-obvious?' look. "He's the most levelheaded and will make the fairest choice." Kura stood up. "I'll be back soon."

They tried to stop her and Inuyasha even grabbed her arm, but Kura began singing and soon popped out of the room, disappearing to who knows where.

They all looked from where Kura disappeared to Kurama, who had his hands in his pocket. His head was down with his bangs covering his eyes. Without a word, he turned his back on the rest and left the room.

He walked for awhile with no real destination in mind, contemplating what he should do. He did not know where he was until he felt the soft brush of wind against his skin. His feet only stopped when he stood at the edge of the pond.

What could he do? How could he make that kind of choice? He knew them all well and couldn't dream of not picking any of them, but it was four of them or one. From the numbers only, it should be very obvious who he should pick, for four was greater than one. But that one was very special to him. It would be like losing her all over again…

He understood why Kura had picked him though. He _would_ give the fairest choice, no matter how much it hurt… wouldn't he? Anyone else who had to decide would be bias… except maybe Sango, who would lose someone she loved if she picked either one, but that choice would probably eat her up inside. So the burden was left on his shoulders.

Kurama was almost positive of what Inuyasha would have done. Besides his love, Kagome, they were all Kurama's friends that had died and none of Inuyasha's. So the hanyou would be more lenient to Kagome. But then again, the hanyou could surprise him and pick otherwise.

As he stood there looking at his reflection in the pond, a memory came back to him, making him smile sadly.

_"You don't want to be touching me there," he told her quietly. "You might not like the effect it has on me."_

_Kagome blushed, understanding his words, but a small smile appeared on her face. "Found a soft spot, did I?"_

_He let go of her wrist but did not move away, keeping their bodies very close together. "A little unfair that you've found mine and I have not found yours," he told her softly._

_His voice caressed her, making her shudder and she closed her eyes as the words washed over her. "Do you always do that?" she murmured._

_"Do what?" he asked softly. His voice had become even closer, meaning that he had moved his face closer to her own._

_She did not want to open them to see the green eyes of the kitsune in front of her. "Enthrall people with your voice."_

_He laughed a little and responded, "only to the ones I'm fond of."_

_Before, he had hardly dared make a move since she was already claimed by another man, but now he knew that she was not. If she did not belong to Inuyasha, then maybe…_

_His lips descended onto hers in a soft, almost chaste kiss, as though he was unsure if what he was doing was entirely desirable by her. She pushed her body closer to his in response, and that was all he needed. He deepened the kiss, one arm going around her waist while the other hand went to the back of her neck, bringing her closer to him._

He snapped out of the memory, almost violently. In the end he had made the same mistake twice, thinking she belonged to another when she hadn't. And then she was gone without her knowing…

…but Kura said she was aware and knew what was going on…

"Kagome, I'm so sorry," he whispered into the wind. "I didn't know… didn't understand. I do love you."

_How could he make this decision?_

No matter whom he chose, Kurama would be blamed for someone's death. It left him with a difficult choice.

Love… or friendship?

* * *

"He's the most levelheaded and will make the fairest choice."

Kura's words echoed through Kagome's being… or whatever it was she was. A phantom of her former self, she supposed.

She watched as he walked silently away from the group and only stopped when he reached the outside. After that, his face took on a thoughtful look as he began the thinking process of his hard decision.

Kagome slowly lifted her hand up to timidly touch the screen where Kurama's cheek was. She heard his soft words and fought back tears. Even if she had cried, the tears wouldn't have been real. Nothing was real where she was.

_Do the right thing, Kurama,_ Kagome thought as she came to grips with the fact that she would probably never see him again.

* * *

Kurama began his dreaded walk back to the common room, knowing that once he reached there, he would have to make a choice. When he reached his destination, he stopped before walking to the rest as he saw Kura already there. Instead, he listened to the conversing group.

"And what happens to you and the other spirits if—once we kill Akio?" Botan asked hesitantly.

"The others are long dead, though only Miya and Yuki are aware of anything around them. The others float around aimlessly, only their essence left behind, not remembering what happened or who they were," Kura informed them. "I can't bring them back because they died by mortal means. So they'll finally move on to Spirit World, I think you called it."

Botan nodded to her inquiring tone while Shippo looked at Kura from where he sat on the deity's lap. "And the ones we don't pick?" the small kitsune asked fearfully, referring to Kurama's choice.

Kura didn't meet the young demon's eyes. "They'll be going to the spirit place too."

"What about you? What'll happen to you?" Kuwabara asked.

Kura shook her head sadly, not answering.

Miroku, who was feeling much better after receiving the medicine awhile ago, sat up straighter. "You had this evil—possibly demonic—presence inside you full of the hate you had when you died, but when you made Akio the house, you gave him some of your evil made of hate and bitterness and took away his humanity to do it. And I think that humanity was transferred to you, staying within you."

Kura nodded. "I see how that's possibly. I was much more compassionate with you than I was with them. It was mostly an act then." Ignoring Inuyasha's mutter of "it could an act _now_" Kura continued, "but what does that have to do with what happens to me?"

"You were brought back to a humanlike state when the house was built and now with Akio's humanity inside you... you'll probably either go to Spirit World with the others or… you'll be human once more," Miroku finished.

"Will you be able to bring whoever we chose back before either of that happens?" Botan asked.

Kura nodded once again.

"But no matter what, we'll still lose someone…" Yusuke said. His fist hit the wall forcefully. "Damn it!"

Inuyasha, who had his back to where Kurama was, asked, "so have you decided yet, fox?"

Shippo looked at Inuyasha, confused for a moment, then realized he wasn't referring to him, but the older kitsune behind him. The rest turned to look at the redheaded fox that they had not known was there.

Kurama closed the distance between him and the group. "I have."

All eyes were turned to him, looking at him intently, but he did not meet any of their eyes.

"And that is…?" the hanyou questioned when he didn't continue right away.

The decision was in no way easy, but the sensible answer was clear. Yusuke who needed Keiko. Sango and himself, who lost Hiei. Shizuru and Yukina, for Kuwabara and Botan who wanted her three close friends back. How could he deny them that so he could be selfish and pick his love instead?

Besides, he knew that Kagome wouldn't want to be brought back if others would stay dead. She would sacrifice herself for others, she _did_ sacrifice herself for him and Inuyasha, and she would have done it for anyone else as well.

That fact didn't make him feel any better about his choice.

Kurama turned to the little girl. "My four friends… bring them back," he told her. It took a lot of control to keep his voice from being strained as he spoke the next sentence. He closed his beautiful green eyes. "…and leave Kagome."

Kura nodded slowly. "As long as you manage to defeat the house's conscience, then I will bring your friends back," she said, then warned, "be careful. This place is removed, yes, but once you call him out, everyone who dies after that, stays dead."

The group nodded their understanding, digesting this new information while hope filled a few of their hearts at seeing their loved ones again. To hold them in their arms… murmur sweet words to them…

Sango unsheathed Hiei's sword from its resting place against her side. "Now let the battle begin."


	35. Summoning

_"I lied. The house is alive. We're all gonna die."  
—The House on Haunted Hill_

* * *

_**Deadly Games**_

**Chapter Thirty-Five: Summoning**

* * *

Kura, on her knees, scooted backwards as her blood-covered fingertips touched the floor, drawing a red line as they moved across it. She touched her fingers to the small gash on her arm once more, than dragged them across the tile, finishing up her work. Kura then stood up and looked down at what she had just done. 

"When I did this last time there was enough blood on the floor that I didn't have to use my own," Kura muttered to herself. "_And_ I had more of my power so I didn't have to do it by hand."

A symbol written in blood lay on the floor, fairly large and taking up a fourth of the large room. The symbol was a six-pointed star that lay inside a circle. Inside the star were three diagonal lines in its center, two of the lines forming an 'X' while the third went horizontally across the star and through the 'X'.

When she had first done the symbol, she and Akio had been in its center as she used her powers to make the blood around them take shape and form the mystical symbol. Akio had been too preoccupied with his guilt and despair to notice the change around him at the time—and too afraid of her as well. Now, with him blocking most of her power, she had to do it by hand and had to use her own blood. If she'd still been human and alive, Kura surely would have fainted with how much blood she had used to make the symbol. But even if her blood wasn't technically real and pumping in her veins, it was good enough for this purpose.

"Is everything ready?" Miroku asked behind her.

Kura nearly jumped out of her skin, surprised by the sudden words. She turned to face him and the rest behind him. She gulped, her palm becoming sweaty as the anxiety swelled within her. "Y-yes," the girl squeaked out.

Sango stood up from where she had been resting on the floor. She was resting her body, saving her strength as she got weaker and weaker. Hiei's sword was still unsheathed from when she had taken it out before and now she used it as leverage to hold herself up. "Then let's go. I want to kill this thing."

"Should… should you really be fighting, Sango?" Botan asked hesitantly. "You're still not healed fully."

Sango sent a glare her way and Botan backed off, literally taking a small step back. Of course, Botan did not know that Sango would never be fully healed again as she was slowly perishing. But the slayer was not going down without a fight.

"What happens now?" Kuwabara asked.

Kura walked silently to the center of the blood-made design before turning back to them, a sudden serious look in her eyes. "I need your help to complete this."

"Since when?" Yusuke asked obnoxiously. "You didn't need help the first time you did it centuries ago."

The sight of the little girl with her hands on her hips and her bottom lip jutted out would have been adorable if they had not known it was her one act that had later made their lives miserable.

"Things were different then and I had a lot more power in that one moment when I sealed him, power I didn't even know I had. Do you want me to call him or not?" Grimly, he nodded and a few others did as well after a few moments' pause. "Then I need six of you to stand at each of the six points, preferably the warriors among you. Whatever comes after this will be almost certainly violent."

One by one, six of them took places at the edge of the symbol; first Inuyasha, who took the place at one of the top points, placing his feet on either side of the bloody edge. He was followed by Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Sango, and Miroku, the last taking the other point across from Inuyasha. Botan with Shippo in her arms stood a few feet away while Kirara waited right outside the outer ring of the symbol.

"This symbol was made of blood before and needs more blood than I can give now on my own," Kura informed them.

"So you want us to give _our_ blood?" Inuyasha questioned gruffly.

She just stared at the hanyou before giving a curt nod.

Sango sighed heavily. If things kept going like this, she would pass out or worse before anything was solved. "Look, no more arguing. If it's blood she needs," Sango held up her sword, "than we'll give her blood."

Kurama, who stood beside her, took the sword from Sango's hands gently, knowing what it meant to her and didn't want to upset her. She looked at him questionably, but he only brought the blade to his arm and in one quick, fluid motion, made a small wound. He passed it to Inuyasha next to him, who did the same before passing it to Yusuke, followed by Kuwabara, and then Miroku. They each picked a different part of their arm to nick with the sword, Yusuke and Kuwabara slicing their palms, but it would give the same result in the end.

Miroku handed Sango back the weapon and she lifted it to her arm. A firm grip on her wrist with the sword in it a second later stopped her. Sango looked up at the owner of the hand.

"Are you sure you should be doing this?" Miroku inquired in a low voice so only she and probably the demons around them could hear. "You can't afford to lose much more blood and expect to live…" _much longer_ was the unsaid ending. "Botan can take your place."

She wanted to get angry with him, truly she did. She wanted to be able to yell at him, mainly since he was being so careful with her, but she felt strangely calm. Calm, because she knew for better or for worse, it would all be over and resolved soon. But she knew the calmness wouldn't last long, especially after the summoning was complete, so she used it while she could.

"Let me do this Miroku," Sango said. The words sounded like she should be asking, but her tone said differently. "I need to do this."

Somehow she felt if she didn't do this then it wouldn't work. It needed her blood.

Slowly, very slowly, he let go of her and she used the blade against her skin. She let out a small hiss that she quickly swallowed. She hadn't made the wound too deep and only hoped that Kura wouldn't need too much blood from them.

Without needing to be told, they each held their arm over the point of the star in front of them. The thick red liquid ran down their arms and fell, but the blood didn't stain the floor. No, the blood dropped from their arms and _sank_ into the floor, disappearing from view and the symbol lay unmarked by the fresh blood.

The symbol began to turn from its red color to a white sort of light, growing steadily stronger as more blood fell. Then Kura, in its center, began to hum. Since she needed as much power as she could muster, she began to sing to build her power.

The light stopped growing brighter while Kura's voice still sung its wordless song. Then abruptly her song was cut off. One or maybe more of them would have asked her why she stopped, but a strong, invisible wind came from no where and would have drowned out their words if they had tried to speak.

Kura's head snapped upward as her hair flapped wildly around her head. Her eyes closed and her arms spread out. Though the wind was moving violently and would have stopped any of their words from reaching anyone else's ears, hers rang clearly around the room. Her voice still sounded the same and perhaps that was the most frightening part because at the moment, she looked and felt like anything but a child, yet technically that was what she was. All the same, her voice had a sense of power to it, which made it seem different.

_Let the pain be undone_

_Let us free again_

_Take the prisoners and set them free_

_And allow them to descend_

_Held for so long,_

_Let the trapped free_

_The sins still anew_

_Bring the trapped for us to see_

Her eyes snapped open and they could see that her eyes were entirely consumed by the normal blue of her eyes. There was no white left in them.

Then in a quiet, but firm voice, she spoke one word.

"Descend."

The mystical symbol suddenly flashed a brilliant white that spread throughout the room, blinding all that were inside it. The six standing at each of the six points of the symbol were all thrown violently backwards by an invisible force, toppling over themselves and rolling across the floor as they were.

The white light slowly receded until seeing was capable again. The first thing the majority of them noticed was Kura, standing still in the heart of the symbol, but that didn't last long. Her body suddenly fell with a thud to the floor.

What they next noticed was the small orb of white light hovering above one of the top points of the six-pointed star. It expanded once again, but this time more upward than out.

Then standing inside the circle, appearing out of the white light, was a man.

The man was nearly six feet with light brown hair and a light shade of brown eyes that matched the hair perfectly. He looked to be in his mid-twenties and seemed quite unthreatening.

Looks can be deceiving.

She had made him into a demon. Giving him, though accidental, her hatred and bitterness of what he had done when she had made him the house's conscience had turned him into a demon.

His hands turned to fists, nails biting so deeply into the flesh of his palms that blood poured down onto the floor. A strong aura surrounded him, the air humming and crackling with his power. He tilted his head upward, letting out a long, wordless, bloodcurdling scream that seemed to have no end. And as he screamed, his power struck out randomly in a visible display, looking like lightning, causing the walls and ceiling to start coming off in pieces with his raw energy.

His scream suddenly stopped, but his power and rage did not. He looked around him with a crazed look in his eyes, searching for something. Or someone.

Akio's eyes found Kura on the floor and he looked down at the unconscious 'child' with an unidentified emotion. She lay on her stomach with her face turned to one side, showing her delicate features and her closed eyes. One arm lay trapped underneath her, while the other hand laid palm-down near her face. Her hair fell in soft waves, framing her face elegantly. She had the face of pure innocence. Oh, how he hated that innocent-looking face.

"Kura, it's been too long since we've met in person," he said with sickening sweetness. It was eerie coming out of a face that had just become so filled with rage.

And with that he lifted his foot, in its fine leather boot, and slammed it on top of her small hand. He dug his heel into it, just like someone would squash a rodent under their shoe, and effectively crushed her hand. The sickening crushing of bone could be heard throughout the room. Luckily, the girl was blissfully unconscious. It would be a whole different story when she woke up; though with Akio near her now, she might never get that far.

The crazed man picked up the girl by her golden locks and lifted his other hand up, about to hit the girl. He was stopped, however, when someone put their hand over his fist. He turned, surprised, to this new person.

"Hi, I don't think we've been properly introduce," Yusuke said sardonically. He punched the lord in the face, making his stumble back. "I'm Yusuke." Inuyasha, with a cry, clawed at Akio's chest, plunging his clawed hand into his stomach. "That's Inuyasha," he continued as he caught Akio and punched him once more. Akio fell to the floor with a grunt.

"You're gonna wish you were never born," Inuyasha growled.

Akio stood up as though nothing had happened and as though the wounds they had inflicted had meant nothing. They had merely caught him by surprise, but now he was ready for them. The wounds began to heal as they watched him come forward. He growled, a sound not meant to be heard from any human. Then again, he wasn't really human, was he? Not anymore anyway, but he had the appearance of one.

He began to call the rest of his power, while the six who had helped Kura summon him tried to attack him before he got too powerful. However, he made a movement with his arm, sending them all flying back. The power crackling around him grew and Akio began levitating a few inches off the ground. Another wave of his arm and demons began to pour in from all over, attacking the group.

The fight began as the group tried to wade their way through demons to get to Akio, but not many could reach him. Even when they did, he easily evaded their attack. Meanwhile, Botan dragged Kura to the side of the room and began to try and heal her broken hand, while Shippo watched anxiously.

Miroku was unable to use his wind tunnel since the poisonous demons had mixed in with the others. What he did do was stay close to Sango so he was able to help her fight and get to Akio… or if anything worse happened, like in case she collapsed.

Sango reached Akio finally and found he had drawn a sword from somewhere or materialized one. He smiled cruelly when he saw her and beckoned her over with the look in his eyes. The rage ran through her, warming her body and boiling her blood.

It was his fault they had lost so many of their friends. The pain… anguish… grief… and guilt… all his fault.

She swung her sword and he blocked it easily with his own. They kept sword fighting, Sango's anger keeping her going even as her body wanted to collapse. She wouldn't let him win. No, she wouldn't.

"Why are you doing all this! Why do you keep hurting people?" Sango yelled at him. "In that vision you showed us, I felt your remorse for killing them… then why are you killing more now?"

"Why? _Why?_" Akio shouted angrily. "Left alone only able to think and reflect for centuries… I blame them! It's their fault!" He attacked again; she put up her sword defensively. "Then once and awhile a wanderer would find their way here… and I'd have fun toying with them… their screams of agony… their pleas of mercy… until they finally died." Another attack. "But your group… it was more entertaining to watch your reactions and your suffering more than anything else. I started wondering, what would you do if I took them? Would you get violent and destroy rooms? Breakdown and cry? Fuck the demon you hate?"

He laughed, he just laughed at her after his own words. Sango's grip tightened on the hilt of her sword. Their swords met again with a clang and stayed together as they both pushed against them. Sango's teeth gritted with the strength needed to hold him off. Her arms and legs trembled with the force.

"You know, I originally was going after you, but seeing Hiei's reaction to what that demon—no, what _I_ made him do, I took him instead."

No, no she didn't want to hear this! No! Hiei… Akio had just wanted to toy with them and Hiei had been the most interesting one at the moment… The bastard!

She let out a strangled cry, something between a whimper and a cry of outrage. Akio gave a finally push and she fell to the floor, lying on her back. As quick as she could, she tried to get back on her feet. She had dropped the sword and he kicked it away before she could reach, then grabbed hold of her. He gripped her wrist with one hand and held her against him, her back against his chest while he held her wrists behind her back. She struggled, but found she didn't have enough energy to get free of him.

Akio rested his cheek against hers and whispered, "Your pain… was just so entertaining to watch." He brought his sword up to her neck. "But it ceases to amuse me now. Let's make the pain stop, shall we?"

Her eyes widened.

She heard her name being called by someone, but the person's identity was unknown to her. She didn't even try to find the person who called her. She heard Kirara's growls and saw her trying to get to her, but also saw several large demons holding her down. She twisted around violently trying to dislodge them, but only more jumped on.

Sango's thoughts were frantic and incoherent. _No… no… he couldn't… no, he wouldn't dare… I can't let it end like this! The girl was going to bring him back! … I… I wanted to see him again… even if only for a minute…_

Suddenly Akio dropped his sword next to them and instead, called Hiei's sword to him. It lifted itself off the ground and flew to his outstretched hand easily. He replaced the blade so that it was held against her neck once more.

His lips somewhere close to her ear, he murmured to her, "I think it is only proper for it to be done by your lover's own sword, don't you agree?"

He moved his head back and pressed the sword a bit tighter against her neck, as though seeing if he could get a reaction out of her. She felt the first trickles of blood slide down her neck.

She didn't respond nor make the smallest noise. She only closed her eyes slowly, accepting her fate. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"Sango!" she heard the voice growl urgently, but it didn't come from around her. It came from within.

Her eyes shot open and her throat was slit.


	36. Showdown

_"Have the courage to live. Anyone can die."  
—Robert Cody_

* * *

_**Deadly Games**_

_**Chapter Thirty-Six: Showdown**_

* * *

"We're losing," Kagome whispered as she watched the fight. 

Maybe it wasn't that obvious as all her friends fought, but slowly she saw them getting pushed back and none of them could reach Akio.

"Do you feel it, Yuki?" Miya asked.

Her tone… it seemed different somehow. It made Kagome tear her eyes off her friends and look at the two spirits.

"Yes," Yuki responded quietly.

"Feel what? What's happening?" Kagome inquired.

"That symbol that Kura made… to summon him. It's calling us too. It's drawing us to it. It wants us to come to it," Miya told her.

"It's pulling at me…" Yuki murmured. She would have said more but abruptly stopped when she saw what was going on behind Kagome. She careful kept her face neutral as she watched from the corner of her eye, but what she saw looked no good. Akio had his hold on the slayer, the one Yuki had been using as her vessel. And she knew what he was about to do to her. No… she had to help her somehow. It was the least Yuki could do to pay her back for using her body.

"I will go and helped them fight," the seductress said, surprising the other two with her abruptness. "God knows, I want to get my revenge anyway." Then Yuki closed her eyes and her form became that of an orb of sapphire light. With that, she was gone.

Miya began to follow, but Kagome caught her wrist. "I'm coming too," Kagome said.

"But it's not calling you, only we can go," the lady countered.

"I don't care, I'll find a way. I can't just sit and watch anymore."

Miya had a look in her eyes that said she wanted to argue further, but neither had the time so she just smiled gently and accepted her plea. Miya closed her eyes and Kagome followed suit. A sparkling green light had appeared in their place with a pink specks sparkling in its center.

The two were gone and in their haste, they had not noticed the soul of one of Kagome's friends slipping away from the surroundings as well.

* * *

Darkness. 

Darkness surrounding her completely with no known way out.

But she wasn't afraid of the dark so it did not matter to her.

Why was there darkness again? And… this feeling of… emptiness.

"I've seen humans do many stupid and ignorant things, but this… you're pathetic."

She tried very hard to concentrate on the voice. She knew that voice.

It took her three tries, but she finally managed to get out, "am not."

"You just accepted it. You didn't fight…"

"I had no strength to fight!"

"It's pathetic. I always thought you were a fighter. Now I see you're a coward. A cowardly _human._"

He said human like it was a disgusting word.

"Stop it!" she yelled. "There was nothing I could do! I was dying anyway." She felt rage, anger. "And who are you to call me a coward? I _am_ a fighter! I fought and fought. I knew I was dying and if I fought it would come sooner, but I fought anyway. But sometimes you just have to know when you're beaten."

She could hear the smile in his voice and then she knew he had only said it, all of what he was saying, to egg her on. He wanted her to go on. "But you're not dead yet. You can still fight."

She shook her head, or at least she thought she did. Did she still have a head, a body? "Such a bad wound… how could I get back up? I can feel myself fading. No human can survive that."

Her neck… the blood pouring down…

"Things are happening as we speak, saving you."

Confusion. "What things?"

"Hn."

Suddenly, a sapphire light surrounded the area and it was all she could see. It embraced her and allowed it to do so, though she felt his presence leave. But with this new presence, she felt it was alright because she would listen to him. She would fight with her last breath, even if that was only a few seconds away.

She couldn't have him thinking that she was a coward, now could she?

* * *

He felt the sweet sensation of metal biting into flesh as he slit the slayer's throat and smiled. He'd grown to love that feeling. And, was it just him, or did her body seem to glow just after he did it? When the blood began pouring down, he carelessly threw her body to the floor and threw her lover's sword next to her, causing it to make a clang sound as it met the ground. He retrieved his own sword before turning his back on her. One down, only a few more to go. 

"You disgust me," said the female voice behind him.

His eyes widened and he turned around, unable to believe his ears or eyes for that matter.

The slayer, lying down in a pool of blood, slowly began to get up. She brushed off her pants and then turned to look at him. There was blood all over her neck and since the blood on the floor had spread, it had covered half her face as well. But as he watched… the wound on her neck that he had given to her hardly a few seconds ago re-knitted itself until the skin on her neck was perfect again, not even a scratch remaining.

"But how… I just slit your throat! That should have killed you!" Akio exclaimed. Then he noticed her eyes. Her eyes…

Her eyes, faintly but surely, were giving off sapphire mist. Now that he looked at her closely, he noticed a sapphire glow to her also.

Seeing his somewhat perplexed look, she said bitterly, "don't tell me you've forgotten me. I did serve under you for a number of years… until you _killed_ me that is."

"Yuki," he said emotionlessly, which pissed her off. He could at least show _some _emotion; he had killed her and she wanted her revenge. Fear, anger, whatever, she wanted some reaction from him.

Meanwhile, Yuki continued to heal the slayer's body with her spirit. She had gotten to her in time so that her fatal wound could be healed before it killed her, but her mind was still in shock, swimming in darkness. She healed her body, but her spirit could still be lost… it was up to Sango to bring herself back, though Yuki sent apart of herself to search for her.

After a few minutes, she felt the slayer's presence return and heaved a silent sigh of relief. Akio looked like he was going to attack again, but Yuki needed more time. Then she saw it and smiled wickedly at the lord. It made him pause.

"I came a little ahead of the others," she said, jerking her head toward the symbol.

Akio turned and saw what she meant and froze in place once more.

Lights began to form above different points of the circle, just like Akio and Yuki had, though they used other points than they had used. Six of them, six points of the star to land at, each having their own. Four orbs, brown, green, blue, and black appeared, hovering for a second as though unsure what to do. Then they all sprang out to different parts of the room swiftly.

Sango fought against the foreigner in her body while Yuki tried to sooth her. _Let me help you_, Yuki whispered inside Sango's mind. Sango froze. It was the first time they had actually gotten to speak directly to each other.

She touched her neck to find it already healed, though warm blood still lay on her throat and face. Her strength suddenly returned as she felt Yuki purify her of the poison that was slowly killing her, until the poison was all gone. Yuki was healing her. Her stomach, the wound Hiei had given her, began to heal as well, but not only on the outside. She gasped as a warm feeling spread throughout her stomach, feeling something much deeper being repaired, though she wasn't sure what. Her broken spirit? Somehow, she didn't think that was it.

* * *

Kurama closed his eyes as he felt the now familiar blue light take over him. _Would you mind for this one last time…? _He heard the polite question in his head. The kitsune only nodded and opened his eyes with a start when he felt someone take his hand. 

His heart jumped into his throat… but it wasn't who he thought it would be.

A spirit, Miya, surrounded by a green light with pink streaks surrounding her, had taken his hand. Her eyes saw Yasuo lingering inside Kurama and she smiled at them. How she, a spirit, was able to take his hand, he did not know, but everything in this house was strange and he didn't have time to question it now.

"I was so lost and alone for so long…" Yasuo said softly through Kurama.

Miya touched his cheek timidly. "But you're not anymore. I'm here now."

Kurama, however, looked at the Lady's spirit intensely. He could have sworn he saw… but, no, it couldn't be possible… but the impossible always seemed to happen, didn't it?

She squeezed his hand, derailing his train of thought. "Come on, let us finish this."

* * *

"Surprised?" Yuki asked Akio, her eyes filled with wrath. 

"You shouldn't be," a voice said. Jiro stood near the two, surrounded by the faint brown light, looking very hard at Akio. Not a drop of sympathy lay within him. He gave a polite nod to Yuki, who, with a wry smile, nodded back in acknowledgement. It was pretty damn formal for someone she slept with multiple times, eh?

"We, after all, are your _friends_. We had to come see you this one last time," another male voice said coldly. Solid arms wrapped themselves around Sango from behind and rested their chin on her shoulder. "Did you miss me, love?" Ryu asked, his voice much more warm when addressing her.

Yuki leaned her head against his and murmured, "you have no idea." Then she removed his arms from him, or at least tried to. "But I can't fight with you attached to me. This body's a loaner, I can't damage it."

Ryu reluctantly let go, but stayed beside her, as the three gave Akio hateful eyes.

Akio was in too much shock to fight or move as they talked, but it was quickly fading away as the craziness came back. Spending centuries by himself and a few wanderers to serve as entertainment had made him crazy and bitter. He wanted nothing more than to be free, no matter what that took. And he was free, just as soon as he got rid of these… _obstacles _in his way. And besides, he needed his bloodlust to be fulfilled.

"Akio," said the soft voice.

Akio turned his crazy eyes to Miya and they did not calm as they might have long, long ago. If anything they got worse. He charged at Miya and swung his sword—but it went right through her. Yasuo/Kurama quickly took out the kitsune's rose whip, using it to skillfully grab the handle of Akio's sword. He yanked and the sword fell from his hands and to the floor by Kurama's feet. He kicked it behind him and far away from Akio.

The lord began summoning the demons in the room closer to him, but the three spirits without bodies to share countered. Miya, Ryu, and Jiro used their energy to hold the demons, controlling them and freezing them in place.

"We'll hold these demons back," Miya told them. "They'll disappear if you kill Akio or when he loses enough energy that he can't maintain them any longer."

The three spirits were absolutely still then, concentrating. The rest of the group (minus Kirara with Shippo on her back who were taking out the frozen demons) made their way over to Akio, who watched them all wearily, but it was no use. He was surrounded and completely out numbered. Still, he fought, calling his sword to him once more from where it lay behind the kitsune.

He ran after Yuki, since she was the closest and he knew she had no training in fighting, therefore thought she would be easier to kill. He would take someone down with him if he could. But Yuki only let Sango have control once more, who easily used Hiei's sword to block and quickly plunged her sword through him.

_For Hiei,_ Sango thought as she retracted the blade.

Before he could recover, Inuyasha used his wind scar to make him go flying backward while Kurama sliced him with his rose whip, his strength doubling with Yasuo's power.

_Kagome._

The house began shaking, furniture being thrown crazily around. The floor began rumbling, cracking and being spread, large enough for one of the couches to fall in it.

Miroku threw one of his wards at him that plastered itself on his skin, burning him where it touched and it stopped his healing process. Akio slowly got to his feet and tried to lift his sword, only to be viciously attacked by Kuwabara and his Spirit Sword.

_Shizuru, Yukina._

Blood began to drip down from Akio's mouth, as well as from many other places all over his body. His skin seemed more red than its normal white. He stood and when he looked up the first thing he saw was Yusuke, his hand pointed like a gun toward him.

"Keiko," Yusuke whispered as he sent a blast of spirit energy at him. He went flying back until he hit the ground and still tumbled over himself backward. Akio was unmoving on the floor.

Silence filled the room, all not knowing what to say. The crumbling of the room abruptly stopped and the demons he had summoned disappeared, dissolving into the ground. It was all… over. Finally.

They were free.

Miya began walking forward, toward Akio, then stopped and looked back to Kurama. Kurama heard the small whisper of thanks inside his mind before the blue aura left him and turned into Yasuo before their eyes. He smiled warmly at his love and took her hand, the two walking toward Akio together. Jiro followed, while Ryu hung back, waiting for Yuki.

Yuki appeared in front Sango. "Thank you for all you've done."

Sango nodded. "And thanks for the healing. I'd be dead if it wasn't for you."

She gave her a lopsided smile that all but said 'I-know-something-you-do-not'. "Just repaying you."

"You're not going to tell me what that smile's about, are you?" Sango inquired, feeling a bit annoyed.

Yuki smile turned into a grin. "You'll find out in due time."

The seductress looked behind Sango to the monk staring at her figure and winked at him playfully. She laughed when he smirked at her, then turned back to Ryu.

"Got that out of your system?" he asked. She nodded and, looking at her, Ryu couldn't help but smile with her. "A seductress until your last moments. I wonder if I would've been able to break you of that habit."

His face turned somber then, his own words reminding him of how they'd never been able to live their life together. Ryu tugged on her arm then, shaking his head while telling her the others were waiting, and the two walked to circle around Akio.

Kura was the last. She slowly blinked her eyes open and stood up, cradling her wounded hand to her, only letting out a small whimper to show she was in pain. With the others, she went over to Akio and looked down at him, her face void of emotion, feeling a bit shell-shocked.

"He's free…" Kura said softly. "We're all free."

"That we are," Yasuo responded, his voice holding much built up emotion.

Then the five older spirits, minus Kura, looked upward, feeling the pull. They could finally go and rest in peace. Jiro was the first to give up his human appearance and began drifting upward in a brownish orb of light. Ryu and Yuki soon followed in their own black and sapphire lights, but Miya lingered behind, looking to Kura.

Kura gasped and clutched her arm around her stomach, feeling the change begin. She looked at Miya with shocked eyes. She… she felt it. She was beginning to become human again. After stealing Akio's humanity so long ago… and now with him gone and her able to use her powers… She was becoming human.

Miya put a hand to Kura's cheek, which calmed her down as she looked up at the woman. "Be good, Kura."

Kura smiled like the child she was. "And what makes you think I wouldn't?" she asked with mischievous eyes.

The Lady Miya gave her an ironic smile and stroked her hair fondly. She couldn't find it in herself to be angry with the little girl. Kura had only punished Akio for what he had done, never knowing what the consequences of her actions might be. No matter how old she was technically, she died as a child and her mind was still that of a child, so she made a childish decision. It wasn't her fault entirely.

Miya turned when Yasuo squeezed her hand and he gently pulled her to him. He embraced her, the first time they could do so in oh so many long years. Then the two began moving upward together, the blue and green lights mingling as they ascended.

Abruptly as the group watched them go, the destruction began again, worse than before. The whole house quaked with it, sending rubble all over the place and making their footing unstable. The house's groaning as it came apart was loud enough for it to be difficult to hear one another.

There was no question about it; the house was coming down.

Sango grabbed onto Kirara to steady herself, but the cat demon was not all too steady herself. "We need to find a way out of here!" she yelled over all the noise.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Yusuke yelled back.

The floor where Yusuke and Kuwabara were standing began cracking in two; each jumped to the side as the ground shook and split. A piece of the ceiling began tumbling downward toward Botan, but Kurama took hold of her waist, actually lifting her off the ground and moved her out of the way. She thanked him just before he started speaking.

"The door we came in from used to be down that hallway and—" Kurama began.

"Before we get in to the complicated directions, why don't we just go?" Miroku said. "If you haven't forgotten, there are a few floors above us that are above to cave in!"

As if to prove his point, they heard rattling above and when they looked up, they saw a bed trying to fall through a gap in the ceiling. Lucky for them, the hole wasn't yet big enough to do that, but it would be soon as it continued to split.

The rest nodded to Miroku's words and began to collect themselves, until Botan's exclamation of "look!" made them turn to follow the deity's pointed finger.

At first, they didn't know what she meant, all they saw was the crumbling house. Then they saw it. Slowly in the midst of all the wreckage, four bodies came into view. Their bodies were faint at first, but gradually were becoming focused. None had their eyes open, or were stirring. Were they really there?

Too stunned to react, Sango just stood there. The rest did the same. Kuwabara was the first to snap out of it, going to first Yukina's side and then Shizuru's (he seemed unable to decide which to stay beside, like a puppy who'd been offered two treats) with Yusuke only a few steps behind him. Yusuke stopped beside Keiko, a hand hesitating just above her arm.

If he touched her, would she be solid?

Botan rushed over next, Shippo clinging onto her while she did. After them was Miroku while Sango walked slowly, one arm draped over Kirara as though she needed the youkai to steady her. She knelt next to Hiei, first just peering at him closely. His face… it had been awhile since she had seen it. He just looked so peaceful lying there, something she had never seen on his face.

Her hand paused just above him, just as Yusuke had hesitated. It wasn't entirely that she didn't think he'd be solid… it was more the fact that if she touched him, she had this image of him suddenly snapping up and grabbing hold of her. Silly, but true.

Scolding herself, she finally let her fingertips brush against his cheek. Solid. And no popping up, but was that a good thing? Maybe he wasn't alive at all… just a trick… but his cheek was warm too, warmer than any human, but his body was naturally that high temperature. Just thinking it made her smile.

He was back.

Kurama stayed behind the rest, watching from afar. Though he did have his friends back, he would greet them later. He would let them have their moments, for he didn't have his. Beside him was Inuyasha, thinking much the same.

"We have to get out of here quickly," Miroku said. He turned to Kuwabara. "You take care of Yukina. I'll carry Shizuru."

Kuwabara nodded and each picked up a girl while Yusuke picked up Keiko. Sango had Kirara carry Hiei, wanting to keep her hands free in case any other surprises popped up.

Then through all the noise and crashes, she heard. The ending of a wordless song. Sango's eyes searched until they found the little girl, who had used the last of her power to bring their friends back. She was on the other side of the large room, far away from the group.

"Kura!" Sango yelled, holding her hand out her. She didn't like the girl… but she did give their loved ones back to them, loved ones they had thought they had lost.

Kura shook her head. "I'll follow soon!" she shouted, but her voice was hoarse so she wasn't sure she could hear her. _There's still one thing I want to do_… Kura thought. Her face turned upward, toward the crumbling ceiling.

The slayer wavered for a moment, but seeing the girl decline, followed the others as they ran as fast as they could toward the hallway that started their way out of the house. Kurama, however, lingered behind looking at the crumbling room. All the orbs of light, the last essences of the dead, were gone. Except one.

Miya's, the green light, was still lingering near the ceiling, not yet ascending all the way. The orb shuttered and separated into two, one still the same color green, but the other… pink.

"Kagome," Kurama whispered.

The green light kept ascending, but the other was moving toward the ground, until it landed next to Kura. Then suddenly, Kagome was standing there, a pink aura surrounding her, looking at him with a small, sad smile.


	37. Life and Death

_**Deadly Games**_

**Chapter Thirty-Seven: Life and Death**

* * *

She was just standing there, watching him watch her. Her smile… so sad…

He took a step toward her, but was forced to take it back when a piece of the ceiling landed right in front of him. Another attempt to go forward and he felt a hand on his shoulder. Kurama turned to look at Inuyasha.

"You have to hurry up," the hanyou told him gruffly, though the kitsune knew it was a front. "You're the only one that knows the way out of here. We need you to lead us."

Kurama looked at him for a long, hard moment, then nodded once. "Alright." Without another glance or word, he and Inuyasha ran to catch up with the others.

He didn't look back once, knowing if he did, he wouldn't want to leave. Not without her. And leaving with her was impossible. Why did it have to end this way?

* * *

Kagome watched the two leave until she couldn't see them any longer. "Goodbye," she whispered.

She felt tugging on the edge on the skirt, which surprised her. How could anyone still touch her? But then again, Miya had managed to be both solid and transparent when she wanted to, so it was possible. Still, she couldn't last long. She could feel the pull to leave this world, just like the others had.

The tug came again and she looked to see Kura staring up at her. She knelt down so that she was on eye level with the young girl before responding. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to thank you, Kagome, and… say sorry. I couldn't bring you back like the others." Was the regret in her voice real or not? Looking into the big blue eyes, she wanted to believe the girl's innocence. Then again, she had been fooled before by it.

Kagome shook her head. "I died because it was my choice. I have no regrets. What you did for my friends, bringing some of them back… you didn't have to do it. I should be thanking you for that." She smiled at the girl, receiving a small smile in return. Kagome nodded her head toward the exit. "Now before this house collapses, go and—"

She abruptly cut off when a scream tore from Kura's lips.

The end of a blade could be seen through Kura's stomach, drops of blood running down her abdomen. The blade was torn out and the blood began gushing out as Kura fell forward, only to be caught by Kagome's arms.

And as she collapsed, Kagome saw her attacker behind her, Akio, slouched on his knees, breathing heavily and coughing up blood. He had only been unconscious before, but he had fought it off to do one last dastardly deed.

It seemed to take effort to just look up at Kagome, not to mention to stay on his knees and not fall back. Seeing Kagome's wide, horrified eyes, Akio felt a need to explain his actions, his words slow and in between gasp of breath. "I may be dying, but I sure as hell won't go down without taking her with me."

That being said, Akio let himself collapse, a peaceful look taking over his face. He was dead before his head could hit the ground.

* * *

"Are we almost out?" Yusuke asked Kurama.

Kurama nodded. "Just take the next right and the door at the end leads outside." _At least, it did once, but with the house moving everything around all the time…_ He did not reveal his doubts out loud, however.

They made the right and sure enough at the very end of the hallway, there was a grand door. The way out. Given new hope, their pace quickened even more.

Inuyasha reached the door first, kicking it open and the sunlight spilled into the dark hallway, blinding them momentarily until their eyes adjusted. One by one, they all disappeared outside into the blinding light until only Yusuke holding Keiko and Kurama behind him were left.

While Yusuke lingered in the doorway, Kurama abruptly stopped and turned around, going back.

"Where are you going?" Yusuke called after him.

He stopped for a moment, but didn't look back. "I saw her and… I can't leave just yet," Kurama said, beginning to run again.

"Don't be an idiot!" Yusuke said while thinking, _I think that's the first time I've ever called Kurama an idiot_. Out loud, he shouted, "this place is collapsing!" The fox didn't even turn. "Kurama!"

He was about to turn into the second hallway they had just left, when the ceiling collapsed completely sending all the furniture and other objects from the floor above in his path. _I'll have to take the long way now, _Kurama thought.

Shippo, hearing Yusuke and Kurama, jumped down from where he was on Botan's shoulder. _Oh, no you don't_, Shippo thought as he ran back into the house, following the other fox's trail quickly before he was out of sight.

"Shippo!" Botan called, but got no response.

"Great, we get stuck with foxes that don't listen," Yusuke said, but it could be heard in his tone that he was worried.

Botan put a hand on his shoulder. "They'll be alright," Botan said cheerfully.

Yusuke shifted Keiko in his arms as he turned toward the deity. "I haven't seen you this cheerful in a long time," he said with a slight smile.

"That's because now, I have something to be cheerful about," she said, glancing at the others then at the forest surrounding them. "Let's go set up some place and wait for our foxes to come back and our unconscious friends to wake up."

* * *

Kagome stroked Kura's hair softly while the little girl's head lay in her lap as she knelt on the floor. Kura's breathing was heavy and every breath hurt her, Kagome could tell, but she never complained. Her good hand clutched a handful of her skirt while Kura's crushed hand lay limply at her side.

"Kura…" Kagome whispered, her voice lost in the sounds of the collapsing house.

A pale light circled around them suddenly, taking away all the sounds around them, leaving the two in silence. A large piece of debris fell, about to fall straight on them, but the pale barrier of light repelled it.

Kura looked up at Kagome with her big blue eyes. "Can we go leave now? Am I… am I free?"

After a moment of looking into Kura's hopeful eyes, Kagome nodded her head while feeling the beginnings on tears prickle at her eyes. "Yes. Yes, you're finally free."

More of the surroundings crumbled, the floor trembling and cracking except where they were, protected by the barrier. Blood continued to seep from the wound, the dark color claiming the lower part of her body. She didn't have long left.

Kura's lips turned upward in a small smile. "Good." Silence. "Kagome… tell me about the outside. It's been so long since I've seen it."

What could she say? "Well, there are grass and trees… beautiful flowers too and you can smell their sweet scent… The sun is warm against your skin and the wind tousles your hair…"

Kagome gently brushed Kura's bangs out of her eyes as she spoke. Though her eyes filled with tears, she tried her best to keep her voice even and not break with the emotion she was feeling.

Kura's eyes had a far off look to them. "I want to go outside… feel the sun surround me… and warm my skin." Her eyes were still somewhat unfocused, but she tried very hard to focus on Kagome's face. "More."

"There are so many things to describe…" _and so little time…_ Kagome thought.

She wasn't able to focus on Kagome's face, her vision becoming darker and darker, starting on the edges and eating its way to the center. "Tell me," she said in a hushed voice. "I've forgotten so much."

Kagome tried to swallow the lump in her throat unsuccessfully. "There are mountains that seem to stretch endlessly up to the sky… that people dare to climb. And if you finally reach the top… you feel like you can reach the stars. …Vast rivers that can rage at one spot and be completely calm in the next. And then there's the ocean that stretches for miles upon miles. The waves crash against the beach and spray you with saltwater…" Oh God, she didn't want to do this… why tell her all this when it was painfully obvious neither of them would be experiencing life again?

"I think…" Kura began as her eyes closed, her talking slow. "I think I'd like to ride the waves… walk along beaches. Will you come with me, Kagome? Will you stay with me? …I don't want to be alone anymore."

The tears fell from her face and dropped onto Kura, but she did not notice. She hardly moved at all.

She couldn't do it, couldn't keep the charade up any longer. "Kura… I'm not… and you're…" She stopped there.

"Will you take me to all those places…?" she asked, her expression never changing. She obviously ignored Kagome's words, or didn't hear them. "Climb mountains… wade through rivers…. I've been… trapped… here for so long…. I want to travel. I want… I want to remember… what it feels like to be… to be human."

After a long pause, Kagome whispered, "I will."

"Thank you," was the response, a delicate smile playing across her face.

Suddenly, their shield of protection from the destruction disappeared, the pale light swirling violently around Kura instead. The color shone off every inch of her body until it seemed to be sucked up into a growing ball above her. Her body was tense and slightly arched upward as the orb grew until none of the light was left on Kura. Her body slumped to the floor.

The orb paused before flying right at Kagome and penetrating her chest before she even knew what was happening. The light began seeping into her chest slowly…

She screamed.

Pain filled her every sense as the foreign object tried to force its way into her 'body'. It spread throughout her, starting at her center and stretching all the way to her fingertips, down to her toes, up into her head. Horrendous, unspeakable pain.

Kagome slid away from Kura, but didn't get far as she collapsed. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, her arms clutching her bent knees to her. Her mind wouldn't work, all she could feel was pain, all she could think about was pain. Her entire head felt numb, her body quivering with the feel of it.

Another scream tore from her throat, long and loud that was swallowed up by the falling house. Something fell from above, crashing into her, but she hardly noticed. It was nothing compared to what she was already feeling.

Then she heard it. It was slow at first, and she even thought she imagined it. Then it came again and she knew for certain.

Her heartbeat.

The pain receded when the light entirely disappeared inside Kagome. She looked down at her glowing skin, then to Kura, her eyes wide. "Kura… I—"

But she had already faded, giving Kagome the last on her life's energy to resurrect her like she had the others.

It was not enough. Kura had been dying and did not have enough energy to give her. Kagome was halfway between life and death and her body would quickly die again if she wasn't completely whole. With one hand over her heart, already she could feel her it failing her. She was dying all over again. Kura had tried, but…

She stood up slowly, her legs shaky. Walls caved in. The ground shook and rumbled. A bed and a dresser from the second floor fell to the first, breaking on impact with the floor below. Even with all the distractions and loud noises, Kagome heard the voice.

"Kagome?" she heard the soft male voice behind her, as though it was in shock.

Kagome turned her head around slowly to see the kitsune behind her not even a foot away. _Why? Why did you come back?_ she thought desperately, _Now… only to see me die again…_ Kagome didn't want him to see. Not like this. She didn't want him to go through any more pain. She wasn't coming back; she didn't need him to go through her death all over again.

"Kurama," she breathed.

He reached out a hand to brush against her cheek, knowing it would go through, but amazingly enough, it didn't. His soft fingers brushed across the side of her face. Her cheek was solid. "Are you… alive?"

She took a step back. "Not entirely." She could feel the tears forming again.

He gently took her arm. "Kagome, we have to go."

A chunk of the ceiling fell near them and he pushed her out of the way. The piece hit hard against the edge of his shoulder, though he ignored it.

"No, Kurama, I'm not… I shouldn't—"

Her legs gave way and Kurama just managed to catch her. When she was standing again, though unsteadily, he brought his hands up to cup her face, looking at her intensely before bringing his lips down to meet hers.

She gave in, leaning in closer so that he supported the majority of her weight, her arms going around his neck to help as well. His soft hair brushing against her skin… Warm lips moving against her own… His body touching hers. Her face flushed. She had longed for this all the time she was gone; the feel of him besides her, the feel of his presence. She had longed for just… feeling.

His hand moved her shirt until he was touching her bare skin, sliding slowly upward. She froze in surprise, her blush growing, but he continued to kiss her like nothing had happened. His hand stopped when it rested above her heart. He could feel her heartbeat, unstable as it was. And she… she could feel warmth, the warmth of him being soaked into her chest, into her heart.

A sharp pain ran through her, lasting only a second, then her heart was beating rapidly, but… normally.

He removed his hand from above her beating heart, but kept his arms locked around her. He finally broke the kiss, though keeping his face very close to hers. She opened her eyes to be staring into his beautiful green eyes from inches away. Her breath caught.

"That doesn't matter now," he told her softly in response to her earlier comment. "All that matters is that you're alive."

_Kurama,_ she thought with some wonder.

She slowly brought a glowing hand up to touch his cheek, the pink light that shone off her skin finally receding. Before she could move that finally inch to touch his face, she was jolted from behind, causing her to fall into Kurama's strong arms. Kagome looked back to see a small kitsune hugging her fiercely, arms wrapped tightly around her neck with no sign of loosening or letting go.

"Kagome!" Shippo exclaimed.

His face was buried in her hair, taking in the scent of her. Though the positioning was awkward, she moved her arm back to hug him to her. She felt his body tremble every few seconds and was confused at first, then realized it. He was crying.

"You're back," Shippo said, his voice muffled by her hair.

She looked up at Kurama. "I am," Kagome agreed softly.

"Don't leave again, Kagome," Shippo pleaded. He clutched her even tighter, partially cutting off her air supply, but she didn't have the heart to tell him to let go.

Kurama protected her from the debris that fell without even flinching. He took her face in his hand, savoring the feel of smooth skin. "Don't leave," he said, repeating the smaller kitsune's words.

She placed her hands gently on his arms. "I'm not going anywhere."

The house groaned, the ceiling completely gone in a few parts of the room and more fell with no sign of stopping.

Kagome looked around them nervously and added suggestively, "…except maybe out of this house."

Kurama gave her a small smile before taking her hand and began leading her out as they ran. Together.

* * *

Sango let out a long, broken sigh as she slumped against the tree, tears suddenly streaming down her face. She closed her eyes, but the tears still found their way out. A sob escaped her, making her body tremble.

_This is stupid, why am I crying?_ she thought as she furiously wiped the tears away. _It's over now, there's no more danger. And most of our group is back. I shouldn't be crying._

The others in the forest were not too far away, watching over their unconscious friends that had yet to wake. She had been with them too, but when she felt the swell of emotions running through her and the feeling of her chest being too tight, she had had to get away. And no one had followed her.

She slid to the ground, her eyes still closed. More sobs escaped her, causing her body to shake and she put a hand over her mouth, trying to muffle the sounds of her crying. She did not want to alarm the others and bring them to her. It didn't, however, stop her body from jerking uncontrollably from time to time. She continued to brush the tears away, along with the blood that stained her face.

"Baka, don't cry."

The feeling of someone squeezing her heart only tightened when she heard the voice. She opened her eyes slowly, though her vision was blurry, forcing her to blink away the last of the tears that clung to her eyelashes.

And there he was, standing in front of her, looking down at her with those unmistakable, impassive red eyes.

"…Hiei…"

Crying harder than before, Sango took hold of him, crying into the material of his cloak.

A small smile came to his lips.

* * *

Her face was a jumble of emotions as she watched the house collapse upon itself until it was only a pile of rubble on the ground. It seemed almost surreal, like everything that had happened was a dream. No, not a dream. A nightmare.

It stayed like that for none too long before even the rumble faded out of existence, leaving only grass and trees in its place, just like the surrounding area. It was as though the house had never been built.

But they knew differently.

Very differently.

"The stupid old mean guy is finally dead," Shippo commented with approval. "And everybody's back."

Kagome looked at him, smiling slightly at his comment, though suddenly deep in thought.

_Was the house really that stupid?_ Kagome thought_, Akio knew what he wanted and how to get it. He wanted one of us to go crazy with jealous and kill the rest, but in order for that to happen, the relationships needed to be formed, but we wouldn't do that on our own. I kept running from Kurama… until after Keiko's death and I learned that I shouldn't be afraid. After Yukina's death, that was the first time Hiei and Sango's relationship meant something. He took comfort in her and after that their affection toward each other began growing and the hate was forgotten. After Shizuru's death, they learned to trust each other. So the house kept throwing us together, making us fall in love, waiting for Inuyasha… or maybe Miroku,_ she realized, _to go crazy with jealous. But then after Inuyasha got jealous and didn't kill anyone… realizing his plan wasn't going to work… that's when me and Hiei died, because the house did not want others to have love, because neither did he. God, Akio was like a five-year-old. If he didn't have something, no one else could either._

"Though I think in a way, he wanted it to end," she thought out loud. "Even when he was trying to kill us, he allowed me to see the past, maybe because a small part of him was still that good-natured human he was before it all. He wanted to be set free, whether that be alive or dead."

Her mind brought back the image of his face just after he had skewered Kura, when he seen Kagome's appalled face. The look, just a smudge of relief, and the need he had to explain his terrible actions to her. When he killed Kura… brought the house down… he was destroying every bad thing that had happened in that place… so that it couldn't happen again.

"Big thinking for a teenager."

She smiled up at Kurama. "I learned from the best."

Kagome looked at the surrounding just then. She was no longer confined. Not by walls or by death. She was free once more. Just taking in all that was around her… it made her feel wonderful.

No cheap imitations.

The sunlight bathed her, warming every inch of her skin. The wind tousled her hair, throwing it this way and that and the coolness of it sent a chill down her spine. The scent of the clean, fresh trees and grass around her found her nose and a huge smile came upon her features.

"I never thought I'd feel… or see it again…. I've forgotten what it was like to be outdoors."

Sure, she had been outside in the house's garden before she had 'died', but… it always seemed… well, fake. This… this was _real_.

Kurama too was glad to be outside once again, but the smile that lit up his face was not from the nature around them. He smiled as he looked down at her, her face bathed in light as she tilted her head upward toward the sun.

Kurama squeezed her hand that was held in his. "Come on, let's go find the others."


	38. To the Nights

**AN**: You don't know how much fun writing this has been. I'd like to think my writing has improved over the course of this fic, which was really why I started writing fanfic in the first place (though this story was never meant to be taken seriously, I just wrote it for fun:o). It's been one hell of a ride, but here's the final chap…

* * *

_**Deadly Games**_

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: To the Nights **

* * *

The sun was setting by the time the group of three, the two foxes and the resurrected miko, reached the others. Shippo, who had finally let go of his death grip on Kagome's neck, jumped from her shoulder into the middle of the 'camp'—mainly the rest of the group around a small fire in the forest—alerting the others' attention. 

"Hey, the little fox is back," Yusuke said as he saw Shippo.

"He was gone?" Kuwabara asked.

While Shippo normally would have responded to Yusuke, saying something along the lines of, 'I have a name, you know', he was far too excited to do that. Instead, he jumped around happily, even jumping onto Inuyasha and pulling his dog ears, while exclaiming, "she's back! she's back!"

"Who's back?" Sango asked as she stood up and moved closer to the small kitsune. She and Hiei had long since come back to the others after she had dried her eyes.

Kagome squeezed Kurama's hand tightly before letting go and rushing toward the closest of her friends. Sango's back was to her, so she hugged her from behind. "Hi Sango," she said since it was the only thing that came to mind.

Her eyes widened considerably, though she wasn't seeing anything in front of her while her mind raced. "K-Kagome!"

"In the flesh," the formerly dead girl said with a grin while Sango spun around to make sure her mind wasn't deceiving her. A small "oomph" escaped Kagome as Sango hugged her at the same time she was assaulted from behind by an over ecstatic ferry girl. Kagome laughed while she hugged them back as best she could.

After a few long moments, they finally let go, letting Kagome take in the rest of the group. It was then that she saw something that surprised her. Keiko was sitting only a few feet away. She had known about the promise Kura had made, but to actually see them alive and gazing at her…

She sprang forward to give the other girl a hug, which started a whole cycle with Kagome just hugging all of her friends that she had missed terribly. She was just so happy that she could actually see and feel them again. She even hugged Hiei, who looked very startled as she did. His face showed how awkward it was to him, which made a few of the others laugh quietly (knowing that if they laughed louder Hiei would send a death glare their way, or worse).

Kagome ended with Inuyasha, pausing not too far from him. His eyes were disbelieving as he stretched out a clawed hand and gently brushed her cheek. "…Kagome?"

She only had a chance to nod before he was suddenly embracing her. After a startled moment, she hugged him back just as closely, squeezing her eyes shut. She had missed this. She had missed all of them.

Kurama stood a few feet away, watching Kagome with every move she made, as though if he took his eyes off her she would disappear again. When Inuyasha let go of her, he more or less, gave her to Kurama, not releasing Kagome's hand until she was safe in Kurama's arms. He gave Kurama a meaningful look before he let go. Kurama met his gaze, nodding slightly in return.

When everything was settled down, the entire group—all together again after such a long period of time—sat around the small fire they had made that warmed them from the night's cold air. Kuwabara sat very close to Yukina just as Yusuke sat next to Keiko, her head rested on his shoulder. Even though Kuwabara was so near to the koorime, for once Hiei did not give him one of his famous I-will-kill-you-you-fool looks. It seemed as though he didn't care at all because at that time, his eyes were only for the slayer across from him. Only the fire lay between them.

Meanwhile, Sango seemed very intent on staring into the fire, watching the wood burn and crack. Once and awhile she would chance a glance upward, only to meet Hiei's intense eyes through the flames as they flickered. She'd blush crimson and look away.

Sango could not bring herself to meet his eyes for long. He was alive and she was more than happy, but… every time she glanced at him her cheeks started to burn as she blushed. Averting her attention seemed so much easier.

_Fine time to get embarrassed,_ she thought, _after all we've been through…_

But… where could they go from here? Had things… changed?

Kurama's arms encircled Kagome and she laid her own hands on top of his. She loved the feel of him, especially the feeling of safety she got when she was in his arms. She wanted nothing but to stay with him like this forever.

Only light conversation took place the entire night. Soft joking and teasing, lovers keeping each other close. No one mentioned anything about the next day. They were very careful with avoiding the subject. They had all been so focused on getting out the whole time they were stuck, none had stopped to realize that when they did, the two groups would part once more.

But for tonight, none of that matter. Tonight, tomorrow did not exist and they would stay frozen in the moment.

* * *

The entire group was crowded in the Higurashi shrine, just in front of the well that led to five hundred years in the past that was home to a few of them. And they were doing the most dreaded thing. 

They were saying goodbye.

"You be good to her," Kagome murmured to Yusuke as she hugged him, referring to Keiko. "Or else you'll be hearing from me and it won't be pretty."

Yusuke laughed. "Now that fear has struck my very soul from your words—I will."

He was mocking her. "You better," she said, sticking out her tongue at him. He only made a face at her in reply, making her laugh as well. Though somehow, happiness wasn't entirely in her laughter as it seemed… sad.

Shippo hugged Botan tightly before jumping onto Inuyasha's shoulder. The hanyou let out an annoyed "feh", but said nothing else to the kitsune. Shippo, however, did enjoyed how he looked slightly embarrassed when Botan hugged him, before she hit him over the back of head, telling him to go easy on Shippo. Shizuru and Miroku's goodbye was humorous as she wound up hitting him because of his lecherous deeds, though her lips betrayed her, trying to turn upward in a smile. She gave him a few words in advice before moving toward Keiko and the others.

Kagome was the last to step away, moving away from Yusuke and effectively stepping away from the rest of his group too as she went to stand by Inuyasha and the rest. By then she (and mostly everyone else), had said goodbye to everyone. Except one last person. The one person she didn't want to say goodbye to.

Kagome looked back at Inuyasha and the rest, while Sango, who stood beside her, followed suit. Inuyasha, understanding their want for privacy, told them sharply not to take too long, though it was obvious the sharpness in his voice was hardly real. He jumped into the well, taking a few items and a protesting Shippo with him. Miroku did much the same, giving them a small nod, before picking up Kirara and hurled himself over the edge and into five hundred years in the past.

* * *

Sango let out a shaky breath she didn't know she was holding as she turned away from where Miroku had disappeared and looked over to Hiei, standing off to the side. He obviously wasn't much for big groups of people or goodbyes, that much was a given. 

Giving Kagome's arm a small, comforting squeeze and ignoring Yusuke and the others as they speculated, she slowly made her way over to him, having to say one last farewell. As Sango walked toward him she was thinking of what to say, but words escaped her once she stood in front of him.

When the silence stretched between them, she finally decided to say the first thing that came to mind. Anything to end the silence.

She unfastened the sword from her waist and handed it over to him. "Here," she told him. "This is yours."

He took the sword from her and unsheathed it, inspecting the blade. "Hn, you haven't taken very good care of it." She could feel her annoyance growing as he continued, "the blade's gotten dull and there are blood stains on it." He sheathed it again with a snap as the hilt met the scabbard, nearly making her jump. Nearly.

He tossed it back to her. "Keep it."

("Ooh, a token of his affections," Botan whispered to the other girls. She stood far enough away that she couldn't hear them, but saw what was happening. Keiko and Yukina looked surprised, while Shizuru smirked).

Sango blinked in surprise as she caught it, then smiled, understanding. Her grip tightened on it before strapping it to her waist once more. "Thank you."

"Hn."

Again, an uncomfortable silence stretched between them. What could be said? There had been so much confusion between them and doubts still remained in their minds.

Hiei silently wished the others were not around as they said their goodbyes. He did his best at ignoring them, though it was not entirely working. The baka would never let him live it down, but…

Surprisingly, Hiei raised a hand up and touched her cheek, feeling the smoothness of it, then cupping the side of her face in his hand. It startled her since they had never had causal, gentle touches before. This seemed different now.

Lightly, she put a hand to his cheek as well. By now she knew every inch of his body, but still even the slightest touch sent thrills throughout her. She let her hand caress his warm skin before letting her arm drop lamely to her side and let her head fall downward.

She could think of no words to say, since no words seemed to give what she was feeling justice. Sango felt tears slide down her face and trickle onto Hiei's hand while silently she cursed herself for being so weak, especially in front of him. He moved his hand from her cheek to her chin, forcing her to look down at him. When she still wouldn't meet his gaze, his grip tightened and she finally met his eyes. And was it there that she saw a certain… tenderness?

She closed her eyes, letting the tears squeeze out from her closed lids, and did one of the hardest things she had to do in her life. She took a step back, away from Hiei and his touch, making his hand drop away. She opened her eyes, wanting to be able to see him for these last few minutes, so that she could always summon him in her mind, though she doubted she could ever forget those ruby red eyes, boring into her soul.

She had to go back, they both knew it. Her and the rest of the group still had Naraku to fight and had to put the Shikon no Tama back together. Sango had to find out what happened to her brother and what might happen to him in the future. She had to know. And she just could not stay in the present. This was not her time; her time was five hundred years previous. Now she had to go back there, to her home. No matter how much it hurt.

Now that she took that finally step back, she could not go back to him. If she did… she knew she would not leave. She wouldn't be able to leave him. Sango had lost him once already and desperately did not want to lose him again, but now… now it was time for her to go.

He could merely watch as she took a step back, never taking her eyes off him and he could only do the same. She took the steps slowly backward to the well, still not looking away from his face. He wanted more than anything to stop her, to reach out and grab her, or say anything that would make her stay, but that would be selfish. She still had a lot to resolve in the past and he could not stop her from doing what needed to be done.

Finally she turned around when she reached the well, making her lose sight of Hiei. Her heart ached as she did. She swung her legs over the edge, her heart racing in her chest.

Sango sat there for a moment, about to disappear to her own time, possibly forever. Then suddenly she turned back to look at Hiei, who watched her intently. She found her voice again, but only one question came to mind that she knew she needed the answer to. Otherwise, she would never be at peace, never knowing the truth.

"Hiei," she called. When he looked at her questionably, she continued quietly, "…would you die for me?"

She couldn't just come out and ask it, but this way… Only they knew the true meaning to her words, though some of the others could probably guess its meaning. Ryu had said it to Yuki... because he loved her. Her chest tightened considerably when he didn't answer right away.

"Fool, don't you already know the answer to that? Or did you not pay attention to what happened in that damn house?" Her eyes, however, were intense and he knew she would not be satisfied with anything but a straight answer. "I would," he responded, though his voice was quiet as he looked away.

The tight feeling in her chest was swept away. "Yeah, me too," she told him with a warm smile, her eyes sparkling. And that was the first time her words rang true. What started off as pure hate had grown to respect, then slight friendship and finally, love.

Maybe if she was able to come back… maybe one day she would return. She was not even sure if she would be able to come back; since the house altered reality, it might have altered it just to get her to the present, just like it had sent that first demon to lead the group to the house. Still… Maybe, just maybe… one day she'd come back and return… to him.

Hiei could not help but smile slightly in return. The smile on Sango's face was the first real smile she had ever given him and it made her more beautiful. Tears gleamed in her eyes and she closed them, taking in a deep, shaky breath as she tried to control all the emotions she was feeling. Just like that, with her eyes closed, his crimson eyes burned into her memory, she fell backward into the well, gone to him, maybe forever.

* * *

Kagome watched Hiei and Sango's goodbye before turning to Kurama, who waited patiently in front of her. 

Not able to take such a meek goodbye as Hiei and Sango's, she ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck and brought him as close to her as she could. He hugged her tightly in response and for awhile that was just how they stayed, holding one another. Kagome closed her eyes as she took in the deep scent of roses.

"I don't want to go," she whispered to him as the tears began to prickle in her eyes.

"Then don't," he told her, hugging her tighter. He kissed her neck, then kissed his way up to her lips while her tears fell freely.

"I have to," she murmured. "I once made a promise to Inuyasha. I broke the Shikon jewel and now I have to put it back together. And then there's Naraku. He can't get away with everything that he's done and I'm going to be there to help stop him."

She moved her head back so she could look into his emerald eyes, those emerald eyes that she loved so much, and saw that the begins of tears were forming in his eyes too.

"I lost you once, I don't want to lose you again," he told her. While his grip got no tighter, he held her firmly in place, his arms locked around her.

"This isn't forever, it's just for a while," she told him softly. "Just until we defeat Naraku. And I can see you when I come back to see my family and times like that. This isn't farewell, it's just a temporary goodbye."

Then how come her words still hurt so much?

"Temporary," he agreed, though the sadness that swept through him was almost overwhelming.

"Don't look at me that way," she said to him. Her words were meant to be teasing, but they came out choked upon seeing the vulnerable look in his eyes. She was the only one that he would show any vulnerability to. "I have to finish my mission and you have to help Yusuke with whatever is thrown his way."

"And when you come home for school, I'll be able to visit you afterwards," Kurama commented. _That is, if I don't happen to be on a mission at that moment…_

"We'll be together soon," she agreed.

He released one arm from around her as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. When his hand came back, it held a single red rose in it. He offered it to her.

"Couldn't find a quarter back there?" Kagome asked through choked laughter, though the laugh didn't sound exactly happy, mixed instead with sadness.

She took the rose from him gently, their hands brushing. He let her go reluctantly and she backed away slowly, turning toward the well. Then when she was halfway there she turned abruptly around and ran to him, throwing herself at him once again. She kissed him passionately as her tears spilled from her eyes, lingering on their joined lips so Kurama could taste the salty sweetness. He felt her need and felt his own as well. He kissed her deeply, wanting her tears to stop, when at the same time knowing they would not.

"I love you, Kurama," she whispered to him when she finally removed her lips from where they were against his. "You know that, right?"

"Of course," he said as he leaned his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes. "And you know, no matter how much time has passed, no matter what happens," he opened his eyes to be staring at her from inches away, "I will _always_ love you."

"Of course," she replied, repeating his words.

He held onto her hand as long as he could as she began to step back, until she was too far and his hand dropped from hers. Without another glance back, Kagome went to the well and jumped in, knowing that she would see him again soon.

There was silence for awhile. No one really moved as they just watched the well where their friends had disappeared.

Finally, Yusuke broke through the quiet atmosphere. "So… what do we do now?" He asked while stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"We go home," Kurama said quietly, "and live to fight another day." He turned to Yusuke with a small smile on his face. "You, my friend, are still a Spirit Detective. We'll have plenty of fights to come and a lot of things to do for this world."

"So just like that, it's over? They're going back to fight the demons of the past, and we're fighting the demons of the present?" Yusuke asked, annoyed at the way things turned out.

"That's how it was before, why should it be any different now?" Hiei answered, his voice not having the annoyance that Yusuke's had held, but it did hold his distaste of the idea. Those that did not know him well would not have noticed.

They had all learned from their experiences in that house, as horrible as it may have seemed at the time. Hiei had learned to love, rather unwillingly at that, while Yusuke had finally expressed his feelings toward Keiko. Kurama had fallen in love for the first time, finding someone who could fill the loneliness inside him. Sacrifices were made, whether out of love or friendship, and lives were lost and others were saved. But now everything was back to normal—as normal as a Spirit Detective's life could be. Now, it was time to do what they had always done before. Fight the good fight and go home with the world safe once again.

Kurama would always remember Kagome, no matter what happened in the future and whether he saw her or not, just like Hiei would remember Sango. After so long stuck together and so many emotions and events shared, nothing could replace them in their hearts. And that went for everyone else. The two groups would be close, some closer than others, in their memories for the rest of their lives. Bonds had been formed that could not be broken. Looking back on it, even with all the pain and suffering that happened… they had learned and grown from their experiences.

Kurama sighed and repeated his words once more.

"Let's go home."

-

**The End**

**-**

* * *

**AN**: Hey, guess what! There's a **sequel** to this story! And it has been started! Go, go read it now! 

You don't understand how much fun this story was to write and in the end, though there are some parts I think are bad and don't like, I'm very proud of it. And also because it's the first story I've finished so far. :) Thank you for taking the time to read this story. It means a lot, especially if you enjoyed it.

Special Note: _Thank you to everyone who has read this story, whether you reviewed or not. All of you, you make it all worthwhile. The reviewers- some of you have been with me since nearly the beginning, others are new, but you all are amazing and thank you so much for your kind words that kept me going and brightened up my day. (And special thanks to those that helped me out with my bad grammar/spelling) (laughs) I'm going to miss you all! _


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